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Soul 


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ITS  POWERS,  MIGRATIONS,  AND  TRANSMIGRATIONS. 


SECOND  EDITION. 

Revised  and  Enlarged. 


“For  these  things  that  appear  delight  us.  but  make  the  things  that  appear  not, 
hard  to  believe  ;  or  the  things  that  appear  not  are  hard  to  believe.” 

— Hermes. 


1888. 

ROST  CROSS  PUBLISHING  CO. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


HUSTON  COLLEGE  UBKAH1 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  MAS&; 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 
F.  B.  DOWD,  Texas, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Right  of  Translation  Reserved. 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 
PRESS  OF  DEMPSTER  BROS: 
1888. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE. 

The  Supernatural . 9 

CHAPTER  I. 

Principles  of  Nature .  .. .  .  20 

CHAPTER  II. 

Life .  28 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Unnatural .  33 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Body  and  Spirit .  ....  39 

CHAPTER  V. 

Mind .  49 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Divine  Mind  and  Body .  61 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Generation  of  Mind . • .  70 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Attributes  of  Mind — Belief  and  Hope .  79 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Knowledge — ( Attributes  of  Mind — Continued) .  90 

CHAPTER  X. 

Faith  and  Knowledge .  103 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Soul .  113 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Migration  and  Transmigration .  T27 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Wilt . } .  140 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Voluntary  and  Involuntary  Powers .  159 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Will-Culture . 105 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Soul-Powers  and  Spiritual  Gifts .  194 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Spirituality .  215 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

‘  ‘  Rosicrucije” .  226 


DEDICATION. 


To  John  Heaney,  of  Buckley,  Iroquois  County, 
Illinois — him  of  the  great  soul,  lofty  mind,  and 
loving  heart — “  Door  of  the  Temple  of  the  Rosy 
Cross  ” — are  these  pages  most  respectfully  and 
lovingly  dedicated,  by 


The  Author 


PREFACE. 


To  provoke  thought,  and  thus  lift  the  world  out  of  the  rut  into 
which  it  has  fallen,  the  following  pages  have  been  written.  The  soul 
is  no  common  or  vulgar  thing;  and  all  approximation  thereto,  in 
thought,  must  be  transcendental.  This  work  claims  to  contain  the 
fundamental  principles  of  all  religion*— the  philosophy  of  manhood, 
and  the  road  leading  to  a  true  life  and  immortality,  here,  on  this 
poor,  much  abused  earth.  “  This  is  a  matter-of-fact  age,”  and  “  the 
day  of  miracles  has  passed.  ”  That  is.  those  things  which  unaccountably 
happen,  which  were  formerly  ascribed  to  God,  have  come  a  little 
nearer  home,  and  are  now  ascribed  to  nature.  TV  hat  satisfaction 
there  is  in  a  name,  especially  to  children!  The  superstition  of  the  past, 
and  of  the  stars,  narrowed  down  to  that  of  “  the  ape”  and  “  the  mud! 
Instead  of  the  facts  of  observation,  I  have  attempted  those  of  logic 
and  common  sense.  Darwin  and  Huxley  have  narrowed  the  mind 
down  to  a  contemplation  of  the  mud  (“protoplasm”  )  but  I  call  you  to 
a  contemplation  of  man  and  his  possibilities.  I  came,  and  found  this 
beautiful  earth  fanned  by  the  breath  of  deadly  poison,  which  men,  in 
the  very  agony  of  breathing,  call  life.  I  go  ;  but  in  going,  I  would 
leave  it  a  little  purer  for  having  been  here.  I  am  satisfied  that  man 
is  the  architect  of  himself,  and  of  all  conditions,  from  ‘  ‘  protoplasm 
up;  and  it  has  been  my  effort  to  stir  him  upward  to  the  creation  of 
things  worthy  of  himself.  This  year,  1881,  is  the  close  of  an  epoch  in 
the  world’s  history.  It  will,  indeed,  be  sad,  if  we  follow  in  the  bloody 
track  of  our  forefathers  downward.  We  have  now  an  opportunity, 
next  year,  of  cutting  loose  the  shackles  that  chain  us  to  the  coipse  of 
the  past.  Shall  we  make  the  attempt?  Reader,  study  these  pages; 
the  great  ideas  are  merely  shadowed,  and  are  left  crude  and  baie  of 
detail,  for  you  to  clothe  as  your  mind  shall  open  to  the  grasping.  Do 
not  deny  what  I  have  written,  without  a  full  and  clear  comprehension  of 
the  ideas. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  this  work  is  wholly  Rosicrucian.  The  sublime 
principles  of  this  fraternity  are  not  conveyed  in  this  manner;  but 
enough  is  given  to  enable  the  thoughtful  and  earnest  seaichei  afto 


truth  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  glory  hidden,  even  now,  as  in  the  past. 
It  is  not  the  loud  sounding  bells  of  a  sabbath  morning,  nor  the  roarin 
of  organs  and  voices;  neither  is  the  high-toned  oratory  of  the  officiatin 
priest,  true  worship;  neither  is  it  the  means,  however  charming  and 
gratifying,  which  move  the  infinite  to  the  answering  of  prayer. 
Remember,  “  silence  is  strength;”  noise  confuses.  It  is  “an  empty 
sound,”  which  silence  comprehends  not,  or  in  the  comprehension  of  it, 
loses  it.  The  unwavering,  persistent,  incomprehensible  (by  us)  thought, 
is  the  sustaining  and  noiseless  moving  power  of  the  universe;  and  he 
who  hath  most  of  it  is  the  most  prayer-answering  God,  and  in  and  by 
virtue  thereof  he  is  the  greatest  prayer. 


F.  B.  DOWD. 


OQ  OfQ 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  SUPERNATURAL. 

In  this  matter-of-fact  age  the  existence  of  God  is  seriously 

O  t/ 

questioned  by  the  greatest  thinkers.  The  reason  is 
obviously  in  the  definitions  which  the  religious  world — more 
especially  the  Christian — gives  to  the  term.  The  very 
nature  of  reason  precludes  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  a 
Thing  above,  separate  and  apart  from  the  relationship  of 
things.  Reason  cannot  transcend  its  own  source.  That 
which  is  seen  and  known  as  nature — it  being  an  infinitude 
of  objects  and  phenomena — is  considered  as  sufficient.  And 
to  reason  and  observation  it  does  seem  so.  But  if  we  under¬ 
take  an  analysis  of  this  thing  we  call  nature,  we  shall  find 
it  fully  as  remarkable  and  as  contradictory  as  to  suppose  a 
Supreme  Being  as  its  maker. 

The  antipathies  of  things  show  no  one  source.  There 
seems,  even  to  broad  and  deep  reason,  two  principles  at 
war  with  each  other;  equally  so  to  the  fool  they  appear. 
One  cannot  be  the  cause  of  the  other — nor  can  they  be 
self-adjusting  and  regulating.  Why?  Because  to  us — 
not  even  to  our  reason — no  thing  is  self-existent  nor  self- 
supporting.  Everything  in  existence  is  dependent  upon 
something  else. 

If  there  is  an  exception  to  this,  it  cannot  be  a  Thing.  If 
we  pass  by  things,  in  our  thought,  and  descend  to  princi¬ 
ples,  they  also  are  dual  and  antagonistic. 

To  suppose  Good  to  be  the  principle,  and  evil  its  mere 
effect,  is  an  absurdity,  for  one  is  as  real  as  the  other;  and 


10 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  evil  is  as  much  the  cause  of  good  as  good  is  the  cause 
of  evil. 

We  are  so  constituted  that  definitions  are  a  necessity  of 
all  growth,  intellectual  as  well  as  physical.  All  nature  is  an 
effort  to  define  itself.  But  what  is  it  that  is  defining  itself 
in  this  warfare  of  elements — this  clashing  of  interests  ?  Is 
it  not  something  hidden  away  alike  from  feeling  or  observa- 
.  tion  and  reason  ? 

The  things  or  principles  that  clash  are  j^cttent — we  think 
we  know  them.  All  are  conversant  therewith,  from  the 
lowest  worm  that  crawls,  to  the  loftiest  intelligence;  whether 
it  be  named  pleasure  and  pain,  or  God  and  the  Devil,  or 
positive  and  negative.  But  that  something  which  is 
struggling  up  out  of  the  rock,  water,  air,  and  mud,  into 
forms  of  beauty,  use  and  deformity — as  if  to  make  itself 
known  in  multitudinous  ways — what  of  it  ? 

Suppose  we  name  it  power!  It  is  neither  positive  nor 
negative — neither  good  nor  evil — but  in  the  definition  of 
itself  becomes  either  good  or  bad,  or  indifferent.  Power 
is  that  which  supports  all  things,  and  wTe  can  wTell  say  it  is 
neutral,  for  in  itself  there  is  no  duality.  But  pause  a 
moment  and  think;  even  power  has  its  antagonist — weak¬ 
ness  !  Is  there  the  weakness  of  nothing  %  Is  powrer  limited 
to  things,  or  even  to  principles  ? 

Acrain :  where  can  weakness  be  found  save  in  things  ?  So 
power  and  weakness  must  be  an  attribute  of  things ;  but 
where  they  come  from  is  unknown. 

But  what  is  a  principle0!'  If  we  can  grasp  a  principle  we 
have  a  foundation  upon  which  to  stand.  It  is  as  easy  to 
define  a  thing  as  a  principle.  A  principle  is  that  which  is 
self- existent. 

There  can  he  only  one  thing  in  existence  that  is  not 
derived  from  something  else.  AN  hat  if  it  be  a  formless  and 
boundless  ocean!  having  nothing  that  can  be  predicated  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


11 


tilings — neither  fire  nor  that  other  thing  that  extinguishes 
fire;  but  perhaps  a  fire,  by  the  side  of  which  the  sun  is 
black — or  a  light  the  opposite  of  our  daylight,  by  the  side 
of  which  the  night  and  the  day  are  alike — in  which  worlds 
float  like  specks,  or  as  animalcule  in  water. 

We  call  good  a  principle,  when  it  is  only  our  icay  of 
estimating  the  phenomena  of  life.  Think  you  there  is  any 
good  where  there  is  no  sense  to  feel  ?  So  good  and  evil,  being 
only  our  estimate,  of  that  which  we  sense — it  is  our  product 
and  must  belong  to  us — and  ice  are  the  principle  after  all. 

We  judge  by  reason  of  sense.  Then  may  not  sense  be 
that  formless,  unchangeable,  infinite  something  that  is  not 
a  thing — that  hidden  and  undefinable  fire  whose  sparks  are 
our  thoughts,  and  whose  warmth  is  our  life  ?  A  fire,  whose 
quenching  by  the  Infinite  will  gives  forms  of  matter  in  the 
cooling— to  be  fanned  into  a  blaze  by  a  breath  of  his  life — 
things  all  luminous  within,  darkened  outwardly  as  if  by  a 
contraction  of  the  sense  ? 

May  not  sense  be  the  Infinite  substance  of  all  space  ?  in 
which  thought  is  as  the  rolling  of  worlds — and  it,  pulsating 
with  motions  and  emotions,  whispers  and  voices  that  do  not 
strike  upon  our  dull  senses — so  stupid  are  we.  Even  our 
atmosphere  pulsates  as  a  breath,  and  the  ether  vibrates  to 
every  voice  or  thought,  and  the  “  aching  void,”  far  beyond 
all  suns,  worlds  and  universes — that  void  of  nothingness 
where  God  is  enthroned  as  “  the  over-soul”  of  all — even 
there  the  tremblings  of  thought  and  feeling  meet  an  answer¬ 
ing  response! 

WThat  do  we  know  after  all?  AVe  know  this:  It  is  sense 
that  is  trying  to  define  itself  in  this  contradictory  manner 
we  call  nature.  Out  of  it  and  into  it  come  so-called  princi¬ 
ples,  laws  and  things — as  the  breath  going  out  and  coming 
in.  It  is  the  actor,  the  cause,  the  source  of  a  mighty  river 
called  life. 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


There  are  other  senses  of  which  we  have  never  dreamed — 
as  the  unknown  is  beyond  the  known. 

How  small  and  weak  is  the  latter  compared  to  the  former ! 
How  small  the  possible  in  comparison  to  the  impossible! 
Is  the  Supernatural  the  impossible  ?  Then  how  great  and 
vast  it  must  be !  It  is  natural  to  grow  in  knowledge,  but 
the  things  unknown  are  infinite — they  are  all  in  our  igno¬ 
rance.  How  vast  it  is  compared  to  our  knowledge!  Is 
Ignorance  the  Supernatural  ? 

The  light  that  flows  from  the  sun  is  small  compared  to 
the  limitless  darkness  that  hovers  around  its  radius.  Is  the 

DARKNESS  the  SUPERNATURAL  ? 

The  above  is  greater  than  the  below.  Is  it  to  be  wondered 
at  that  men  have  universally  looked  up  to  God  ?  However 
vast  nature  may  be  there  is  something  still  above  it,  which, 
although  incomprehensible,  still  has  an  existence  to  every 
thinking  mind.  My  nature  is  limited  by  my  knowledge  of 
myself  and  my  relationship  to  others.  So  nature  is  a 
limited  thing,  as  my  mind  is  my  limit. 

May  not  this  nature,  after  all,  be  merely  a  mental  product 
as  the  good  and  evil  of  it  is  ?  A  mental  product !  not  of 
one,  or  even  of  a  race,  but  of  all  minds  in  unison!  Is  all 
nature  outside  of  us,  or  is  it  ivithin ,  as  a  wondrous  mystery 
hidden  in  our  ignorance. 

Is  not  the  impossible  within  us ,  the  same  as  weakness, 
and  ignorance,  and  darkness  ? 

Education  is  nothing  but  the  opening  of  a  “  door,’1  or  the 
lighting  of  a  lamp  in  a  dark  place,  through  which  things 
before  unknown  appear  to  us  as  the  possible,  and  are  very 
simple. 

The  circumstances  of  our  lives  are  all  within  us,  as  the 
possibilities  of  our  natures,  but  hidden  from  us  in  our 
ignorance ,  till  our  acts  flow  out  as  a  light,  showing  us 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


merely  a  few  tilings  of  the  many  still  lying  back  in  the 
infinite  darkness  of  the  unexplored  beyond. 

The  hidden  is  infinite.  W e  are  hidden  from  ourselves, 
and  know  not  the  wondrous  powers  lying  back  of  our 
smallness. 

Even  we  are  astonished  at  the  wondrous  skill  of  this 
thing  we  call  man,  which  is  but  the  supernatural  revealing 
itself  to  us.  It  is  very  close  to  us — possibly  it  may  be  us! 
hidden  from  us,  as  all  things  are  hidden  from  the  infant’s 
closed  eyes. 

I  feel  so,  at  least  at  times,  when  I  forget  the  narrow 
limits  of  this  life,  and  it  is  my  effort  herein  to  show  what 
acts  are  the  greatest  lights  in  this  infinite  darkness  of 
ignorance,  so  that  peradventure  some  one  more  gifted  than 
1,  may  possibly  surprise  the  Supernatural  himself  some  day 
with  the  torch,  lighted  not  by  man. 

It  may  be  an  idle  task  to  search  for  God,  but  he  has 
given  us  questioning  minds,  and  every  instinct  of  nature 
prompts  us  to  ask,  “  Who  and  what  is  God  ?”  and  I  realize 
that  the  world  grows  by  each  apparent  or  pretended  solu¬ 
tion  of  it.  Possibly  God  joins  himself  to  us  in  this  way 
from  out  the  shoreless  darkness  of  our  own  natures. 

The  first  letters  of  God’s  alphabet  is  nature.  They  are 
multitudinous — for  each  object  is  a  letter.  What  is  the 
word?  “  The  word  of  God”  is  the  sense  of  all  these  things 
when  reduced  back  from  the  contradictions  of  multiplicity 
to  one.  It  then  becomes  intelligible  to  sense  of  a  limited 
capacity.  Eor  nothing  less  than  infinity  can  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  all  things.  But  the  sense  of  the  finite  mind 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  infinite  mind.  All  things  are  in 
one,  and  exist  in  it  and  of  it ,  but  not  from  it. 

In  this  infinite  variety  of  things — this  multiplicity  of 
objects — this  division  of  the  one — the  mind  goes  back  in 
search  of  the  first  principle,  the  foundation  from  which 


14 


INTRODUCTION. 


they  all  spring.  This  infinite  principle  of  power  is  sense. 
The  vast  oceans  of  space  pulsate  with  sense.  The  worlds, 
suns,  stars  and  objects  of  space  are  each  and  all  held 
together  and  kept  in  place  by  sense.  All  things  are  sus¬ 
pended  in  an  ocean  of  sense.  Nay!  things  are  sense — and 
sensible,  if  the  darkness  would  roll  from  off  our  souls. 
Sense  is  the  only  thing  in  existence  that  comprehends 
things.  To  comprehend  is  to  enclose,  or  envelop.  God 
reveals  himself  to  the  sense  of  things.  In  fact,  he  is  sense 
itself. 

God  exists  not  as  an  objective,  but  as  a  subjective  being — 
not  separate  and  apart  from  nature,  but  as  the  creative 
principle  thereof,  residing  in  all  and  permeating  all  that  is. 
In  this  view  the  supernatural  becomes  comprehensible.  It 
is  the  soul  of  nature  and  objects:  hence  God  is  objectified 
in  his  works. 

He  who  looks  for  God  as  an  object  to  worship  will  find 
many  on  the  road  to  power,  but  he  who  looks  for  God 
within  himself  will  feel  the  fullness  of  satisfaction  and 
power,  which  God  gives  to  all  who  love  the  good  and 
true. 

That  which  is  unchangeable  is  supernatural  and  eternal. 
In  nature  things  are  mutable.  Matter  may  be  divided  till 
there  is  nothing  left  of  it.  Analyze  a  thing,  and  you  have 
nothing  left  of  it  save  a  little  dross.  Take  a  chair  for 
example.  "What  is  it  ?  A  few  pieces  of  wood  put  together 
for  use.  Take  it  to  pieces  and  the  chair  vanishes.  Burn 
the  wood  and  we  have  ashes.  Melt  the  ashes  and  we  have 
some  other  substances  to  which  science  gives  names.  But 
wdiere  and  what  is  the  chair  ?  Is  it  a  mere  name  ?  or  is  it 
a  substance?  It  is  an  effect — a  result  of  the  combination 
of  pieces  of  wood.  If  it  is  an  effect,  where  and  what  is  the 
cause  ?  I  answer,  the  chair  was  first  an  idea  conceived  in 
the  mind  of  some  man,  and  came  out  of  the  man,  and  was 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


formed  in  matter  for  use.  But  the  real  chair  is  an  idea, 
and  hence  it  is  as  indestructible  as  man  himself. 

The  same  is  true  of  all  things  that  man  makes.  They 
come  out  of  man  as  the  light  of  his  intelligence  illuminates 
the  darkness  of  his  ignorance,  wherein  infinity  exists. 

Nature  is  matter,  motion  and  space,  but  the  sense  of  it  is 
the  supernatural.  It  interprets  itself,  as  I  am  feebly  try¬ 
ing  to  do.  Each  man  must  interpret  for  himself,  and  his 
interpretation  will  be  himself  merely,  as  the  sense  of  his 
mind  illumines  the  darkness  within. 

Space  is  a  vaecuum  in  which  things  exist  in  motion  or  in 
sense.  It  is  the  “  over-soul,”  and  comprehends  or  includes 
all.  This  is  the  supernatural.  The  sense  of  a  thing  gives 
it  motion,  and  in  motion  things  gestate,  as  in  a  womb,  and 
grow,  or  become  materialized. 

At  the  centre  of  things  there  are  no  things,  neither  is 
there  any  motion  there.  Perfection  and  stagnation  exist 
at  the  centre.  The  centre  is  a  vaccuum,  and  is  the  soul. 

All  worlds  wheel  around  centres,  and  centres  are  souls, 
and  souls  are  Gods.  In  God  (“  The  Over-Soul”)  all  things 
are  possible — in  nature,  where  soul  is  a  centre,  the  impossi¬ 
ble  exists,  because  here  is  ignorance,  darkness  and 
weakness. 

“  He  who  limits  things  by  his  narrow  sense  is  a  fool,” 
says  Hargrave  Jennings,  one  of  England’s  great  Bosicru- 
cians;  and  I  say,  whoever  limits  the  possible  shows  his 
weakness  and  want  of  comprehension. 

We  do  not  know  what  exists  in  nature.  W e  know  very 
little,  and  what  little  we  know  is  a  damage  to  us,  save  as  it 
shows  us  our  weakness  and  the  power  and  infinitude  of  the 

possible.  To  return  to  ideas. 

We  are  as  we  think:  ideas  rule  and  govern  all  action  and 
all  growth.  Ideas  are  souls — entities  of  all  being- 
unchangeable  and  indestructible;  they  exist  in  the  spiiit; 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  atmosphere  is  the  spirit  of  the  earth,  and  in  it  are  the 
souls  of  vegetation  having  been  evolved  from  the  earth. 
They  hover  around,  and  when  conditions  are  favorable  they 
descend  according  to  the  law  of  attraction  and  affinity,  and 
spring  up  in  the  soil  as  vegetation. 

Vegetation  does  not  depend  -altogether  upon  seeds,  it 
springs  spontaneously  from  the  earth.  To  illustrate:  when 
a  young  man,  my  father  burned  several  coal  pits  on  one 
bed  during  the  winter;  the  next  fall,  in  passing  by,  I  saw 
several  plants,  commonly  called  the  Mullen ,  growing  in  the 
old  coal  bed.  The  Mullen  plant  was  unknown  in  that 
part  of  the  country  previously.  A  man  in  Northern  Iowa 
dug  a  well  over  one  hundred  feet  in  depth.  The  great  pile 
of  clay  lay  there  in  the  sunlight  and  darkness,  wept  over 
by  dew  and  rain,  scorched  in  summer  and  froze  in  winter, 
till  the  next  year  it  produced  a  crop  of  weeds  that  were  not 
to  be  found  anywhere  in  all  the  country  round  about. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  to  the  pioneers  of  the  wilderness 
of  northern  Pennsylvania  (and,  I  suppose,  to  other  wood¬ 
lands)  that  on  a  newly-cleared  piece  of  woodland  when  the 
soil  is  killed  by  burning,  “fire- weeds”  spring  up  almost  as 
thick  as  the  hair  on  an  animal’s  back. 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  chemical  affinity;  and  the  earth 
being  prepared  by  heat  or  in  any  other  manner  makes 
“  conditions”  for  new  or  old  forms  of  vegetation  to  come 
into  existence.  The  earth’s  atmosphere  is  all  alive  with 
ideas — ideas  of  vegetables,  animals  and  men— all  waiting 
for  favorable  conditions  to  enable  them  to  be  born  into 
existence. 

Ideas  are  infinite  in  number  and  variety,  corresponding 
to  all  conditions  from  mineral  up  to  man.  They  are  the 
soul-life  and  volition  of  matter,  and  they  enter  into  matter 
at  every  point  where  conditions  are  favorable. 

A  scientist  told  mo  the  other  day  that  a  drop  of  nitric 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


acid  applied  to  a  piece  of  fresh  broken  granite  rock,  revealed 
under  the  microscope  numerous  living  beings  similar  to 
animalcule  found  in  stagnant  water.  “  This,”  said  he, 
“proves  that  the  solid  rock  is  full  of  life.”  But  it  proves  no 
such  thing.  It  simply  shows  that  the  union  of  the  acid 
with  the  rock  produced  motion  there,  and  wherever  there  is 
motion  there  is  a  magnetic  current,  and  forms  having  life 
spring  into  existence — not  that  they  were  any  more  in  the 
reck  than  in  the  acid,  or  that  of  necessity  they  were  in 
either. 

I  hold  that  all  forms  are  ideas  materialized,  that  ideas 
are  eternal,  but  forms  are  evanescent.  The  sunlight  gives 
color  to  vegetation;  color  is  an  idea,  but,  although  the 
foundation  of  color  may  reside  in  the  mineral  of  plants,  yet 
we  all  know  that  the  sun  develops  it. 

A  child  develops  in  utero,  but  who  does  not  know  that 
the  soul  comes  through  the  father?  Matter  is  the  mother; 
spirit  is  the  father. 

In  every  atom  of  matter  is  a  vacuum — else  there  would 
be  no  attraction — for  matter  crowds  upon  vacuum  and 
hence  takes  form,  and  vacuum  is  the  womb  of  matter,  into 
which  ideas  are  attracted  whenever  moved  by  a  magnetic 
current. 

All  life  and  organization  are  dependent  upon  this  current, 
and  this  is  dependent  upon  the  formation  of  a  magnet,  or 
the  union  of  the  positive  and  negative,  the  acid  and  alkali, 
the  father  and  mother.  As  spirit  is  the  father,  and  as 
ideas  (souls)  come  from  the  Father,  so  does  spirit  baptize 
matter,  impregnating  it.  4  God  is  a  spirit.”  So  the  super¬ 
natural  is  a  spirit,  and  will  beget  itself  in  matter  whenever 
conditions  are  favorable.  It  is  upon  exactly  the  same 
principle  as  the  generation  of  mosquitoes  in  stagnant 
water.  Low  weak  forms  are  generated  in  low  conditions. 

Ideas,  being  soul,  are  food  for  souls.  Hence  man  grows 


18 


INTRODUCTION. 


in  creative  and  original  power  through  his  reception  of 
ideas.  Ideas  take  root  in  the  soil  of  man’s  mind  according 
to  its  condition ,  exactly  as  vegetation  springs  up  in  the  soil 
of  the  earth.  If  the  soil  be  poor  the  vegetation  will  be 
inferior.  If  the  mind  be  low  and  vulgar,  the  ideas  attracted 
will  be  inferior;  but  ideas  of  whatever  grade  or  kind  are 
a  creative  power.  There  is  a  spontaneity  of  mind  as  well 
as  of  earth.  That  which  springs  up  of  itself  is  generally 
weeds,  but  the  most  delicious  fruits  are  produced  by  effort — 
culture.  The  higher  the  culture,  the  nearer  the  approxima¬ 
tion  to  the  supernatural.  To  show  the  road  thereto  is  my 
object. 

Look  you  at  the  burrowing  worm,  and  at  the  soaring 
eagle!  Step  up,  slowly,  laboriously,  from  the  lowest  form, 
step  by  step,  to  the  highest  form  of  life  known  on  this 
planet — man.  Do  you  stop  here  ?  And  because  your  poor 
sight  sees  no  higher  form  will  you  deny  its  existence  ?  Do 
you  see  intelligence  graded  from  the  snail  to  the  loftiest 
intellect,  and  then,  by  your  narrow  sense,  limit  gradation 
or  power  ?  Behold  the  grass  of  the  fields !  the  lilies  of  the 
valley!  Then  look  aloft,  by  day  or  by  night,  at  the  won¬ 
drous  manifestation  of  an  intelligent  power,  and  blush  in 
shame  at  your  presumption. 

We  grasp  a  little  knowledge,  a  little  of  life,  a  little  of 
spirit  by  the  five  senses,  but  the  vital  principles  of  science 
and  of  human  action  are  only  grasped  by  the  loftiest 
reason.  This  is  intuition.  Are  you  a  reasonable  being, 
and  yet  limit  God  by  denying  him  ?  If  so,  your  reason  is 
of  the  lowest  order;  it  is  destructive;  it  is  not  GoD-like  and 
creative.  Analyze  matter  in  the  crucible  of  thought — 
dissect  all  forms  with  the  scalpel  of  reason,  and  then  when 
you  are  done  with  your  work  tell  me  what  you  know  If 
your  work  has  not  inspired  you  with  a  love  of  the  unknown 
mystery  surrounding  and  dwelling  within  all  things,  you 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


are  an  egotist.  If  you  cavil  at  names  you  are  a  fool.  Are 
you  an  artist?  Then  take  your  inspirations  from  one  who 
works  eternally,  and  never  makes  a  failure.  Are  you  a 
mechanic  ?  Go  study  the  suspension  bridges  the  spider 
makes,  and  the  comb  of  the  honey  bee,  or  the  mechanism 
of  a  tree.  I  need  not  multiply  words.  Whatever  you  are, 
or  whatever  you  aspire  to  be,  the  power  is  waiting  for  you — 
the  patterns  are  spread  out  for  your  study. 

The  supernatural  is  in  all,  and  is  subservient  to  our 
wishes.  But  it  is  our  work  to  make  conditions — these  have 
no  limit.  There  is  no  interference — you  can  be  just  what 
you  like  to  be ;  but  growth  is  slow.  Why  hurry  ?  Is  not 
eternity  for  us  ?  It  is  the  hurry  and  worry  of  life  that 
destroys  power.  Trouble  and  vexation  destroy  health  and 
pleasure,  and  these  are  all  there  is  of  value. 

All  things  are  suggestive,  for  they  are  ideas;  they  call 
us  out  oi  ourseivss  to  revel  in  the  infinite,  is  there  no 
suggestion  that  comes  to  you,  kind  reader,  of  the  superna¬ 
tural  ?  Is  there  no  intuitive  feeling  that  speaks  to  you  of 
immortal  undying  power  ?  Bo  you  not,  in  your  better 
moods,  long  to  drink  at  the  fountain  of  life,  pleasure  and 
individuality  ?  If  not,  I  am  sorry  for  you.  Ideas  give 
fullness  of  life  and  pleasure — the  greater  the  idea,  the 
greater  fullness  and  power.  What  idea  is  greater  than  the 
supernatural  ? 

We  talk  glibly  of  the  laws  of  nature,  as  if  they  were  fixed 
and  immutable;  but  they  are  set  aside  by  every  habit  which 
disgraces  the  race.  Furthermore,  modern  times  are  rife 
with  accounts  of  the  dead  appearing  to  the  living,  and  of 
the  living  appearing  as  the  dead:  of  levitation  and  the 
moving  of  substance  without  a  motive  power,  etc.,  etc. 
The  suspension  of  any  one  law  of  nature  proves  beyond  all 
question  that  all  are  subject  to  the  same  power,  and  all  may 
be  suspended  or  rendered  inoperative. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


I  believe  in  definitions  ;  but  all  definition  is  arbitrary. 
To  define  a  thing  is  a  creation.  That  nature  exists  is  a 
certainty,  but  when  we  come  to  define  it  we  shall  find  It 
not  so  simple.  ¥e  define  things  in  order  that  we  may 
understand  each  other. 

We  speak  of  nature  as  if  it  was  an  entity — an  individual 
thing.  But  the  fact  is,  there  are  myriads  of  things  and 
conditions  in  nature  which  are  parts  thereof.  In  all  this 
diversity,  there  must  be  a  something  the  intellect  can  seize 
upon  as  a  fact  upon  which  to  stand  while  we  search  in  this 
whirl  of  atoms  and  worlds  for  a  stationary  principle  of 
being.  To  find  that,  which  is  common  to  all,  is  to  find  the 
real.  If  nature  is  divided  into  parts,  it  exists  as  a  whole  ; 
every  part  must  have  something  common  to  the  whole. 

To  analyze  a  part  is  to  analyze  the  whole,  for  the  same 
laws  inhere  in  an  atom,  as  in  a  world.  An  atom  exists  by 
the  same  laws  that  the  earth  does  ;  and  its  modes  of  action 
are  the  same. 

The  law  whereby  matter  coheres  and  gathers  together,  is 
attraction.  This  is  a  binding  force.  But  the  law  that  dis¬ 
solves  atoms,  and  throws  them  off,  is  the  law  of  repulsion. 
These  two — the  positive  and  the  negative — constitute  the 
laws  of  motion.  Everything  exists  by  virtue  of  motion  ; 
but  there  is  a  point  where  there  is  no  motion.  That  point 
is  the  centre  from  whence  motion  takes  its  rise.  At  the 
centre  of  the  earth  there  is  no  up  nor  down,  no  positive  nor 
negative  ;  it  is  simply  vacant  of  these  things — i.  e.  all  things 
exist  here  in  solution,  as  it  were — or  conditionless. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


21 


Things  differ  in  nature.  Shall  we  say,  then,  that  nature 
does  not  exist  because  there  are  so  many  natures  ?  By  no 
means  :  for  there  are  two  laws,  acting  in  all  conditions, 
which  belong  to  that  real  nature  which  is  the  substratum. 
They  flow  out  from  it  as  the  positive  and  negative  flows 
from  a  magnet.  As  there  is  a  neutral  point  between  the 
positive  and  negative,  a  point  where  neither  exists,  so  nature 
is  a  neutral  ground  lying  between  antagonistic  forces. 

Nature  may  be  likened  unto  a  magnet,  which,  in  itself, 
moves  not,  but  sends  out  positive  and  negative  forces.  To 
a  thing  belongs  motion  and  space  ;  without  motion  nothing 
could  exist.  It  is  motion  that  fills  the  void,  and  prevents 
nothing  from  asserting  its  sway. 

Things  in  motion  must  have  space  to  move  in  ;  so  all 
things  are  triune  in  manifestation. 

A  thing  is  composed  of  the  visible  and  invisible  ;  one 
visible  point  is  space  in  which  it  exists  ;  another  is  the  thing 
itself  ;  but  the  third,  or  invisible  point,  is  its  motion.  The 
earth  and  space  surrounding  it  are  visible,  but  its  motions 
are  invisible.  It  stands  still,  and  we  are  always  on  the  top. 

The  soul  of  nature  is  motion,  or  rather,  that  which  pro¬ 
duces  motion.  Hence,  the  third  part  of  things,  which  is 
the  most  important  part,  is  invisible.  Matter,  space  and 
sense  are  the  three  things  which  constitute  nature.  Matter 
needs  no  definition.  Space  is  known,  and  is  relatively  a 
vacuum  ;  but  the  sense  thereof  is  known  not  by  visibility. 
The  relative  proves  the  absolute,  the  same  as  a  part  proves 
the  whole.  A  relative  vacuum  proves  an  absolute  vacuum  ; 
as  relative  sense  proves  an  absolute  sense. 

Existence  is  that  which  is  visible,  or  that  which  comes 
en  raport  with  visible  things.  The  invisible  and  the  un¬ 
known  are  the  absolute.  The  nearer  we  approach  the 
unknown  the  more  we  are  entering  the  realm  of  power,  and 
losing  our  hold  on  visible  and  tangible  things. 


22 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


The  nature  of  a  thing  is  its  conditions,  and  these  condi¬ 
tions  are  only  its  modes  of  action.  As  there  are  only  two 
laws  of  action — if  those  laws  are  followed  to  their  source 
we  shall  find  nature  herself  totally  stagnant  and  indifferent , 
as  at  the  centre. 

The  antagonists  of  nature  are  readily  distinguished, — the 
male  and  the  female,  positive  and  negative,  heat  and  cold, 
life  and  death,  etc.,  etc. :  wherever  we  look  we  find  oppo¬ 
sites  ;  but  the  third ,  and  most  important  part  of  everything 
is  not  so  easily  distinguished,  and  its  existence  often  denied 
by  pretended  thinkers  Body  and  mind  are  readily  known, 
or  matter  and  motion ;  but  the  soul,  or  that  which  moves 
things  is  unknown.  We  distinguish  things  by  their  differ¬ 
ence,  but  often  fail  to  take  into  account  that  the  conditions 
standing  between ,  and  incorporated  into  every  atom  of 
matter  in  existence ,  constitute  the  important  factor  of 
existence  itself. 

It  is  said  that  “Like  attracts  its  like  that  “Birds  of  a 
feather  flock  together,”  etc.,  etc.  But  this  is  a  superficial 
view  of  this  great  subject.  The  great  underlying  principle 
of  nature  is,  that  opposites  attract  each  other,  and  are 
bound  together  in  inflexible  chains.  Like  repels  its  like; 
but  upon  a  close  examination,  things  are  not  alike — they 
only  resemble  each  other,  and  this  little  resemblance  causes 
repulsion. 

The  weak  is  attracted  to  the  strong.  The  sun  holds  the 
earth  at  arm’s  length  by  mere  force,  while  the  earth  is 
attracted  to  the  sun  because  it  i3  the  sun’s  child,  and  is 
growing  upon  nourishment  the  sun  gives  it.  The  sun  is 
full,  the  earth  empty — receptive. 

Atom  piles  upon  atom,  iron  upon  iron,  wood  fibre 
upon  wood  fibre,  etc.,  but  this  is  the  law  of  growth, 
and  not  duo  to  attraction  solely,  for  growth  is  due 
to  motion — attraction ,  repulsion ,  revolution.  The  sun 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


23 


pours  upon  our  atmosphere  a  substance  or  force,  of 
the  nature  of  which  we  are  totally  ignorant.  The  near¬ 
est  approach  we  can  make  to  it  is  a  prism  of  white  light. 
This  force  produces  such  pressure  upon  the  atmosphere  as 
to  cause  heat  in  its  passage  through  it.  The  first  effect  of 
this  force  is  to  strike  a  white  light  :  as  fire  struck  from  flint 
by  a  blow,  which  becomes  refracted  or  broken  up  in  its 
passage  through  the  atmosphere  by  reason  of  its  resistance, 
thus  refracted  all  the  colors  we  know  of  are  originated. 
This  is  the  first  form  of  matter,  the  first  transmutation  of 
spirit — the  unknown  into  the  known.  But  this  transmuta¬ 
tion  does  not  stop  here  ;  light  continues  to  condense  upon 
vegetation,  mineral,  and  all  things  in  the  processes  of 
growth.  All  matter  is  but  condensed  sun  light,  and  in  its 
disintegration  returns  to  its  source,  or  at  least  goes  into  the 
atmosphere  to  be  again  hurled  down  into  forms.  Thus  it 
may  be  seen  that  attraction  or  gravitation  is  the  secondary 
principle  in  nature,  as  the  feminine  is  in  human  nature  ; 
and  that  evolution  is  secondary,  while  involution,  repulsion 
or  force  are  primary  principles. 

We  know  of  seven  colors,  of  all  of  which  White  is  the 
Mother!  What  is  the  Father?  Black,  the  Night  !  tho 
unfathomable,  impenetrable  darkness  of  spirit,  out  of  which 
all  things  come.  To  illustrate:  If  it  were  possible  to 
ascend  to  the  outer  edge  of  our  atmosphere  and  gaze  aloft? 
what  would  we  behold  ?  Nothing!  An  impenetrable  black 
wall!  Why?  Because  the  human  eye  is  constructed  to  see 
in  our  atmosphere,  and  not  at  all  adapted  to  see  in  the  ether 
which  scientists  teach  lies  between  us  and  the  sun  ; — even 
supposing  they  knew,  which  they  do  not.  So,  from  this 
darkness  that  “broods”  over  the  deeps  of  creation — from 
out  this  abyss  of  spirit  that  overshadows  all  worlds,  and 
that  corresponds  to  the  ignorance  that  overshadows  all 


24 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


minds — the  fire  of  light  is  struck  that  is  the  life  of  all 
things — and  is  all  things. 

As  ignorance  is  darkness,  so  the  night  is  in  us,  the  cause 
of  all  our  energy  and  intelligence.  Light  is  a  moving, 
creative  force  ;  mind  corresponds  thereto.  But  light  being 
struck  out  by  the  force  of  darkness,  mind  must  originate 
from  the  ignorance  in  ourselves,  or  from  that  inertia  or 
vacuum  which  is  the  centre  of  things. 

I  am  aware  there  is  a  class  of  thinkers  who  claim  that 
there  is  no  inertia,  and  that  “nature  abhors  a  vacuum.” 
This  may  be  true,  but  it  is  far,  very  far ,  from  evident.  It 
is  just  as  logical  to  claim  that  nature  is  “one  vast  whole,” 
and  that  it  is  not  made  up  of  parts  or  conditions.  I  claim, 
that  inertia  is  a  condition  in  which  no  motion  or  life  is  vis¬ 
ible,  or  that  is  known  ;  and  this  is  the  dividing  line  between 
the  two  great  contending  powers,  attraction  and  repulsion. 
Furthermore,  I  claim  that  a  vacuum  exists  in  matter — the 
source  of  its  attractive  and  repulsive  power,  and  that  said 
vacuum  is  foreign  to  nature,  i.  e.  a  prisoner  in  conditions. 
Its  efforts  to  free  itself  give  rise  to  motions  analogous  to 
combustion.  This  is,  indeed,  the  soul  of  things. 

That  nature  is  a  relentless,  unfeeling,  remorseless  power, 
needs  no  argument.  It  moves  on,  regardless  of  the  waste 
of  worlds,  or  the  sacrifice  of  life  or  forms.  To  nature, 
death  is  the  same  as  birth,  and  it  creates  forms  to  destroy 
them. 

Nature  suffers  not,  neither  does  she  enjoy.  Remove  sen¬ 
sation  from  nature  and  it  is  neither  good  nor  evil.  The 
earth,  water,  air,  electricity,  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  with¬ 
out  something  to  make  comparisons,  are  all  indifferently 
good  or  evil  alike. 

There  can  be  no  good  or  evil  save  to  things  that  suffer 
and  enjoy.  This  indifference  corresponds  to  ignorance,  for 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


25 


out  of  indifferent  nature  comes  all  of  life,  even  as  knowl¬ 
edge  springs  from  ignorance. 

Absolutely,  nature  exists  only  as  sense ,  in  which  view  we 
are  nothing,  and  matter  is  nothing ;  but  we,  as  relative 
beings,  know  literally  nothing  of  the  absolute.  Hence  the 
folly  of  reasoning  from  an  absolute  standpoint. 

It  is  claimed,  that  evolution  is  the  law  of  nature.  This 
is  partly  true,  for  evolution  is  due  to  repulsion.  Eepulsion 
is  the  first  law  of  existence,  and  is  the  male  principle,  from 
which  sprung  the  female  principle,  attraction.  (See  the 
allegory  of  Adam’s  rib.)  All  motion  is  circular  ;  and  mat¬ 
ter  thrown  from  a  centre  must  return  in  time.  There  are 
no  straight  lines  in  existence.  The  returning  current  of  a 
magnet  is  negative,  or  female. 

Revolution  is  the  law  of  nature,  inasmuch  as  it  includes 
both  repulsion  and  attraction.  A  circle  is  symbolic  of  eter¬ 
nity.  The  soul,  in  its  efforts  to  free  itself  from  conditions, 
projects  a  magnetic  stream  from  itself,  which  describes  a 
circle  in  its  motion.  As  magnetism  (or,  more  properly, 
spirit)  moves  in  chaos — that  part  of  the  current  which  is 
negative  or  female — polarizes  or  combines  matter  from 
chaos — and  thus  peoples  space  with  stars  or  worlds.  The 
negative  is  the  combining  current.  It  is  formative. 

The  earth  upon  the  same  principle  evolves  spirit  from 
itself,  i.  e.,  dissolves  and  throws  off  matter  in  a  refined 
state,  which  in  its  return  deposits  the  germs  of  vegetation, 
animals  or  man,  upon  and  in  the  earth’s  surface,  impreg¬ 
nating  it,  and  they  grow. 

Growth  is  simply  motion  or  evolution  of  gross  spirit  from 
the  material  form,  which  constantly  becomes  more  atten¬ 
uated  and  refined  the  further  it  is  projected  from  the  thing 
evolving  it.  Not  an  atom  of  matter  is  motionless  ;  it  is 
being  constantly  stirred  to  its  very  center  by  the  involution 


26 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


of  spirit — or  the  unknown.  Evolution!  Indeed!  It  is  not 
half  of  the  truth. 

What  of  involution?  The  earth,  an  unknown  living 
creature,  journeying  through  space,  plunging  eternally  in 
a  fathomless  abyss,  involved  alternately  in  light  and 
shadow,  bathed  in  an  ocean  of  influences,  of  stars  and 
suns  —  is  constantly  evolving  her  atmosphere,  and 
countless  living,  animate,  conscious  forms  from  herself. 
Apparently!  I  say  apparently ,  for  the  fact  is  the  opposite. 
Light  is  the  Father,  the  earth  is  the  Mother.  Things 
descend  as  well  as  ascend.  A  child  at  birth,  and  prior  thereto 
is  involved  in  circumstances  which  slowly  but  most  surely 
make  the  man  and  the  woman.  Evolved  from  the  womb, 
but  involved  in  the  mother’s  love,  in  her  influences,  and  the 
fathomless  abyss  of  a  strange  and  mysterious  existence  ! 
Surroundings  most  certainly  deposit  themselves  upon  us, 
as  the  sunlight  and  the  dew  does. 

There  is  revolution  in  everything.  Birth  (evolution), 
Growth  (Involution),  Decay  (Revolution),  Life  ( Circular 
Motion ),  from  the  unknown — a  short  journey — back  to  the 
unknown.  Matter  in  combustion  is  life,  but  whence  comes 
the  light  ? 

Like  the  light  from  a  candle,  refined  matter  is  being 
evolved  from  matter,  which  radiates  round  about,  and  as 
constantly  returns,  bringing  from  the  unknown  something 
of  the  infinite  to  combine  in  forms  of  beauty  and  use. 

Transient  and  fleeting  as  these  forms  may  be,  they  each 
and  all  contain  souls  struggling  for  freedom,  and  the  ocean 
from  whence  they  came,  the  stream  of  life,  flows  downward 
and  not  upward.  God  is  above — but  things  being  less  are 
beneath.  Causation  is  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  mystery  and 
the  darkness  of  the  impenetrable  shadow;  but  effects  follow 
the  light,  and  flow  on  ever  as  worlds,  suns,  stars  and  human 
beings. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE. 


27 


All  matter,  all  life,  all  forms,  and  all  mind  is  involved  in 
an  unfathomable  mystery,  which  enters  into  existence  in  the 
light,  taking  form  as  matter  and  thought.  If  this  were  not 
so,  matter  would  become  less  and  less  by  its  action ;  for 
light  is  but  the  consumption  of  matter.  The  evolution  of 
matter  is  the  involution  of  God,  which  increases  as  light 
increases. 

But  oh!  the  mystery  of  the  night  surrounding  us  !  AY  ho 
can  fathom  its  depths  ?  AYho  can  explore  infinitude  ?  Things 
reside  in  the  shadow  from  which  they  come  stealthily  into 
the  light  for  a  little  time — then  steal  away  into  the  shadow 
again.  Man  with  his  torch  gropes  his  way  slowly  and  with 
cautious  steps  in  the  thick  darkness,  and  anon  some  gro¬ 
tesque  shape  comes  partially  in  view — then  disappears  as  if 
the  light  had  dissolved  it.  The  darkness,  rendered  more 
intense  by  the  presence  of  light,  crowds  around  before  and 
behind  ;  and  upon  the  confines  of  light — in  the  twilight  of 
being — the  formless  takes  form,  and  such  as  can  bear  the 
light  march  in  serried  columns  along  with  man. 

The  light  we  carry  is  what  we  have  learned.  It  enables 
us  to  see  and  define  that  which  otherwise  were  formless. 


CHAPTER  II. 


LIFE. 


To  define  life,  is  to  live :  for  in  our  efforts  to  define  a 
tiling  or  principle,  we  unconsciously  become  like  that  which 
we  attack.  Analysis  without  definition  is  destruction.  To 
define  life  is  a  herculean  task.  Life  is  a  manifestation  of 
something  having  power  to  feel  which  resides  in  an  organ¬ 
ization. 

All  things  visible  are  simply  effects  of  some  hidden  cause 
— causes  are  always  hidden.  The  true  mode  of  reasoning 
is  from  effects  towards  causes,  which,  receding  as  we 
advance,  we  only  approximate. 

Life,  as  we  understand  it,  is  a  result  of  the  union  of  soul 
and  spirit.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  what  a  thing  is ;  any 
word  or  name  that  depresses  what  we  mean  is  the  best  ice 
can  do.  The  Word  of  God  is  the  meaning  of  God  ;  and  the 
word  of  Life  is  the  significance  thereof,  which  is  the  object 
of  this  book.  It  is  the  desire  of  every  earnest  person  to 
know  why  we  are  here  ;  and  in  order  to  answer  the  question, 
it  is  better  to  explain  modes  of  action  than  to  multiply 
names. 

I  look  upon  life  as  matter  and  spirit  in  union  or  in  motion 
or  sense  ;  for  all  motion  is  the  cause  of  union  of  atoms.  As 
I  have  said  before,  motion  is  the  soul  or  sense  of  things. 
The  laws  of  motion  are  the  laws  of  combustion,  for  they 
are  the  same.  Everything  reminds  us  of  the  fire  out  of 
which  we  came,  and  to  which  all  things  return  in  the  last 
analysis. 


LIFE. 


29 


To  find  a  something  common  to  all  forms  of  matter — 
animate  and  inanimate — is  to  find  that  real  nature  I  am 
trying  to  define  ;  that  will  be  a  fact  as  real  as  existence 
itself  ;  that  fact  is  that  which  we  feel  and  know.  In  other 
words,  that  perception  of  life  which  comes  through  the  five 
senses,  and  not  through  that  higher  or  intellectual  sense. 

By  virtue  of  these  five  senses  the  earth  appears  as  an 
undulating  plain,  with  the  sun  rising,  moving  over  head, 
and  setting  at  night.  We  are  always  on  the  top  of  the 
earth,  and  the  heavens  are  above. 

No  mode  of  reasoning  can  make  us  feel  that  we  are  half 
of  the  time  underneath — or  standing  out  sideways  in  space. 
That  this  is  owing  to  our  relationship  to  the  earth  I  freely 
admit,  but  the  knowledge  we  have  gained  through  the 
exercise  of  the  higher  intellect  sets  aside  the  basic  facts  of 
existence,  and  proves  them  a  delusion  of  sense.  Now  which 
is  correct  ?  May  not  the  facts  of  intellect  be  a  delusion  of 
sense,  also?  There  is  no  absoluteness  in  man,  save  his 
existence. 

These  same  senses  cause  us  to  feel  pleasure  and  pain. 
Are  they  real,  or  is  it  a  delusion  of  sense  ?  These  senses 
tell  us  of  the  up  and  the  down,  and  the  reversal  of  ourselves 
is  death.  We  instinctively  love  pleasure,  which  we  call 
good,  and  elevate  it  as  God.  But  we  dread  pain,  and  avoid 
it  as  the  devil,  which  is  low  down  and  to  be  kept  down,  if 
possible.  Beason  as  you  will,  sail  around  the  globe,  explore 
space  and  measure  the  stars,  and  then  teach  that  there  is 
no  high  and  no  low,  no  good  nor  evil,  no  up  nor  down ;  but 
still  common  sense  remains — as  nature  remains — a  solemn 
protest  against  the  light  of  the  intellect  as  a  guide  to  those 
deep  and  fundamental  principles  of  existence  ;  which  to  be 
of  any  value  must  bring  pleasure  instead  of  pain.  Human 
reason  leads  the  soul  to  nothing ;  while  the  universal 
instinct  warns  man  of  the  evils  of  pain  and  death — as  if 


30 


LIFE. 


creative  genius  has  planted  in  man  a  something  in  which 
the  brute  shares — that  causes  him  to  dread  death,  and  to 
value  life. 

And  furthermore  an  instinct  tells  him  of  a  nature 
long  since  forgotten,  save  in  legend  ;  of  the  unnatural  state 
in  which  he  now  lives,  or  rather  suffers,  and  of  a  supernat¬ 
ural  state  to  which  he  may  attain. 

The  common  sense  of  atoms  teaches  them  to  lie  still  in 
their  places  in  obedience  to  attraction,  and  the  same  teaches 
them  to  fly  when  set  free  by  repulsion.  The  same  laws 
make  all  things  related,  and  all  life  one  homogeneous 
whole.  We  are  relative  beings,  and  as  such,  logic,  to  be  of 
any  use,  must  be  relative  also.  Common  sense  corresponds 
to  indifference  or  to  inertia,  because  it  is  ignorance.  But 
what  is  the  knowledge  worth  which  destroys  common  sense 
and  the  naturalness  of  things  ?  That  which  destroys 
nature  destroys  happiness. 

Who  so  bold  as  to  assert  that  the  wisdom  of  man  adds  to 
his  happiness  ? 

The  first  manifestation  of  nature  is  law  or  action,  which 
is  two-fold,  as  I  have  stated.  This  must  be  nature,  which, 
as  a  cause,  is  superior  to  effects,  as  an  artist  is  superior  to 
his  works.  Man,  as  an  effect  of  nature,  is  inferior ;  but 
God,  who  is  the  Author  of  nature,  is  superior  to  all.  Nature 
cannot  be  infinite,  for  it  is  particled,  and  is  bounded  and 
limited  as  a  whole.  There  can  be  only  one  thing  in  exist¬ 
ence  as  an  absolute  entity. 

The  word  is  superior  to  the  letters  composing  it,  but  the 
sense  is  superior  to  both.  Thoughts  are  letters  of  an  un¬ 
known  alphabet,  nature  is  the  word,  God  is  the  sense.  That 
which  destroys  the  word  takes  away  the  sense.  The  thought 
of  the  age  is  that  there  is  no  God  ;  such  is  the  unnatural- 
ness  of  man. 

The  life-principle  is  one  homogeneous  whole  ;  it  cannot 


LIFE. 


31 


be  particled  ;  it  is  the  same  in  worm  as  in  man.  The  little 
life  of  one  thing  is  just  as  potent,  and  as  great  for  that 
thing ,  as  the  greater  life  is  for  another.  If  the  life  of  one 
thing  is  immortal,  then  all  life  is.  But  the  life  may  be 
beaten  out  of  a  thing  by  processes,  to  be  explained  here¬ 
after,  so  that  it,  as  a  thing,  has  no  self-supporting  power. 

Everything  is  dual — -“Male  and  female  created  he  them,” 
— darkness  and  light,  ignorance  and  intelligence,  cold  and 
heat,  evil  and  good,  opposites,  antagonists,  all  go  hand  in 
hand — inseparable.  There  is  nothing  known  but  has  its 
opposite  ;  and  one  being  given,  the  other  may  be  found 
close  at  hand.  Furthermore,  the  third  thing,  that  which 
makes  the  triangle  of  imperfection,  resides  always  within 
the  two  visible  parts. 

Two  things  being  placed  side  by  side  are  said  to  be  in 
contact  ;  but  there  is  always  something  between  them,  which 
prevents  them  from  becoming  one,  for  absolute  contact  is 
oneness.  That  which  separates  things  is  condition.  Distance 
is  condition.  If  all  things  were  in  like  condition,  they 
would  fuse  and  blend  so  that  all  form  would  be  lost.  This 
third  thing — that  is  not  a  thing — this  something  intangible 
and  immaterial,  I  call  the  soul  of  things  ;  for  by  virtue  of 
it  things  exist  and  have  motion. 

Distance  is  space,  and  space  is  a  vacuum.  Hence  all 
forms  have  souls,  for  there  is  a  condition  or  distance  between 
all  forms.  That  which  is  visible  and  tangible  has  its  antag¬ 
onist  or  opposite.  Its  antagonist  is  that  which  destroys  it, 
and  not  that  which  sustains  it.  Indifferent  nature  is  antag¬ 
onized  by  life.  All  life  which  has  volition  preys  upon  and 
sustains  itself  by  that  which  has  no  volition.  This  is  very 
evident  in  herbivorous  animals,  but  not  quite  so  evident  in 
the  carnivora  ;  though  when  we  stop  to  consider  that  the 
flesh  of  the  sheep  is  due  to  vegetation,  upon  which  it  lives, 
it  becomes  evident  how  the  wolf  feeds  upon  vegetation 


32 


LIFE. 


which  has  gone  through  a  chemical  change  in  the  form  of 
the  sheep.  After  death  all  things  are  indifferent.  Flesh  is 
as  indifferent  after  death  as  vegetation.  Nature,  then,  being 
visible,  has  its  visible  antagonist.  The  antagonist  of  nature 
being  life,  the  highest  type  of  life  calls  for  our  attention: 
that  is,  man. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  UNNATURAL. 

What  is  man  ?  He  is  the  highest  form  known,  contain¬ 
ing  in  himself  the  greatest  quantity  of  life,  the  most  intel¬ 
ligence,  the  greatest  will,  the  most  creative  power,  and  the 
only  unnatural  thing  in  existence. 

Indifferent  nature  corresponds  to  darkness,  ignorance, 
weakness,  want  of  power.  The  ancient  philosophers  called 
the  earth  “the  egg  of  the  night.”  Out  of  darkness  all 
things  come.  Ignorance  is  the  mother  of  all  conditions  ;  in 
ignorance  we  begin  this  life,  and  struggle  towards  the  light 
of  intelligence  ;  from  the  miasmatic  sw^amps  of  ignorance 
come  all  conditions  that  we  war  against. 

A  certain  form  contains  a  certain  amount  of  life,  and 
wherever  there  is  conscious  life  there  is  pain  and  pleasure. 
Life  gives  pleasure,  but  its  deficiency  causes  pain.  To  in¬ 
crease  life  is  the  road  to  pleasure  ;  the  deficiency  of  life 
causes  the  unnatural  to  appear,  viz:  pain. 

Indifferent  nature  is  as  full  of  life  as  it  wTill  contain,  and 
we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  there  is  pain  or  pleasure 
therein.  But  to  me  nature  seems  in  an  ecstacy  of  growth 
and  decay,  and  that  man,  by  violation  of  laws,  has  fallen 
beneath  the  floor  ecstatic ,  into  an  ocean  of  tears,  whose 
waves  alternately  howl  with  storms  of  agony,  or  sing  with 
zephyrs  of  melodious  pleasure. 

But  the  moment  consciousness  came  into  existence, 
coupled  with  will  and  power  to  act,  having  volition  and 
freedom  of  action,  that  moment  commenced  the  creation  of 
conditions  altogether  different  than  had  previously  existed. 


34 


THE  UNNATURAL. 


I  care  not  how  slow  the  process, — it  takes  ages  to  produce 
some  things.  Every  worm  that  burrows  in  the  earth, 
everything  that  crawls  upon  its  surface,  every  bird  that 
plucks  a  seed  or  eats  a  worm,  every  animal  that  crops  the 
herbage  of  the  plains,  or  that  devours  other  animals,  up  to 
man,  who  tunnels  the  earth,  plows  the  ground,  or  improves 
vegetation,  fruits  and  animals  ;  he  who  scans  the  heavens, 
fathoms  and  bridges  the  oceans,  and  subdues  and  subjugates 
all  other  things,  these  are  all  creators — creators  of  con¬ 
ditions  ;  conditions  wherein  there  is  less  of  harmony,  less 
of  fullness  of  life. 

The  action  of  will  is  exhaustive,  especially  its  over  action , 
which  comes  from  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  action.  In  our 
ignorance  of  the  future  we  get  an  imaginative  idea  of  some 
groat  good,  to  be  derived  from  doing  some  certain  thing. 
Immediately  we  set  about  it,  and,  being  led  captive  by  the 
object  in  view,  regardless  of  heat  and  cold,  hunger  or  thirst, 
pain  or  pleasure,  we  rush  along  till  exhausted. 

Exhaustion  is  disease.  It  is  unnatural  !  All  disease  is 
unnatural.  It  comes  from  action  ! — the  action  of  a  Free 
Will.  That  man  should  be  the  most  unnatural  being  in 
existence,  comes  not  only  from  his  freedom  of  action,  but 
from  his  greater  range  of  action,  his  greater  power  of 
thought,  invention,  imagination. 

If  nature  be  considered  indifferent,  man  antagonizes  it  in 
every  particular.  He  is  a  being  of  thought,  judgment, 
memory,  imagination,  craft,  love  and  will.  Pride  and  am¬ 
bition  are  his  ruling  traits. 

Many  there  be  who  claim  that  all  things  are  natural; 
that  there  is  no  above  or  below  nature  ;  that  man  cannot 
violate  or  go  contrary  to  nature’s  laws.  The  inevitable 
conclusion  derived  from  the  foregoing  is,  that  man  is  a  mere 
machine,  moving  only  as  he  is  moved  upon  ;  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  volition  :  no  high,  no  low,  no  merit  or  de- 


THE  UNNATURAL. 


35 


merit,  no  good,  no  evil.  Any  man  with  common  sense 
knows  such  conclusions  to  be  false.  Why  ?  Because  it  is 
contrary  to  experience,  and  every-day  facts  of  existence. 
By  virtue  of  our  organization,  by  virtue  of  the  conditions  cf 
our  very  existence,  there  exists  the  up  and  down,  the  high 
and  low,  etc.,  and  any  conclusions  of  logic,  which  set  these 
mundane  facts  aside,  are  based  on  false  premises. 

What  a  demon  nature  or  God  must  be,  to  hold  us 
responsible  for  the  violation  of  laws,  when  we  have  no  power 
to  help  ourselves.  But,  they  assert  further,  that  there  is  no 
violation  of  law  ;  that  nature’s  laws  cannot  be  broken.  I 
simply  say,  Gentlemen,  you  know  better.  Do  we  not  suffer 
for  the  violence  we  do  to  ourselves  ?  Most  assuredly.  Then 
why  does  nature,  or  God,  necessity,  or  fate  make  us  suffer 
for  doing  that  which  we  cannot  help  doing  ? 

Man  is  of  necessity  a  law  maker,  and,  in  his  ignorance, 
cannot  conform  to  nature’s  laws.  To  conform  to  nature 
would  be  to  revolve  in  an  eternal  circle  ;  but  man,  in 
striving  for  the  new,  breaks  through  the  circle  of  ignorance 
and  indifference,  and  gets  hurt  in  so  doing.  Thus  he  be¬ 
comes  diseased  by  his  own  act. 

I  freely  admit  that  he  cannot  help  violating  the  law  on 
account  of  ignorance,  since  his  whole  being  is  action,  but 
each  act  or  violation  is  a  creation ,  and  is  more  pleasing  to 
man  because  it  is  his  own.  And  furthermore,  the  ignorance 
we  complain  of  is  in  ourselves ,  and  not  in  surroundings. 
Thus  we  compel  ourselves  to  act  ;  each  act  creates  light, 
and  light  is  the  object  of  our  existence.  Evil  is  our  teacher. 
It  is  wisely  ordered  that  we  should  suffer  ;  for  that  increases 
action  or  light,  to  which  we  are  responsible,  and  by  which 
all  are  judged.  We  are  nature,  necessity,  or  fate. 

“  Whatever  is,  is  right  !  ”  No,  indeed  ;  the  reverse  is 
nearer  the  truth.  There  is  nothing  true  to  its  condition  ; 
if  things  were  true  and  right,  there  would  be  no  need  of 


36 


THF  UNNATURAL. 


improvement,  and  no  possible  room  for  it.  There  would 
be  no  foreshadowing  of  a  better  state  of  things:  no  aspira¬ 
tions,  no  longings,  no  heart-aches,  no  weariness  of  soul. 
There  is  little  of  right  and  truth  in  all  things  ;  just  enough 
to  give  us  a  taste  of  the  good,  and  make  us  dissatisfied  with 
our  present  condition,  and  spur  us  on  to  effort,  to  better  it. 

No  man  can  climb  who  is  at  the  top  of  the  ladder.  Truth 
and  right  are  far,  very  far,  above  us,  but  we  get  flashes  and 
gleams  of  the  glory  occasionally,  which  show  us  where  we 
stand  on  the  ladder.  Hideous,  weird,  fantastic  shapes 
glare  out  of  the  darkness  beneath,  but  above  us  is  light,, 
truth,  knowledge,  love,  glory,  harmony.  Nature  is  harmony, 
but  the  unnatural  is  discord. 

Man  is  unnatural  because  he  is  less  than  nature.  He 
pretends  to  love  nature,  but  in  reality  he  despises  it.  We 
are  creatures  of  art.  We  are  made  up  mainly  of  hereditary 
and  acquired  habits.  These  have  become  a  second  nature, 
which  we  admire.  This  second  nature  I  call  the  unnatural. 
True,  nature  keeps  along  with  us  in  our  downward  course, 
and  fights  manfully  against  disease  ;  restoring  us  in  sleep, 
and  adapting  itself  to  our  vices  and  crimes. 

It  is  our  voluntary  powers  which  ruin  us,  but  it  is  the 
involuntary  which  gives  us  what  little  health  we  have. 
When  we  forget  ourselves  in  sweet  sleep,  nature  asserts 
itself  ;  and  even  then  the  abnormal  habits  of  our  daily  lives 
prevent  her  work.  There  is  very  little  indifferent  sleep. 
We  are  too  intense  ;  the  intensity  of  the  day  disturbs  the 
night.  Wg  cannot  forget  that  which  we  love  :  our  daily 
avocations,  our  graspings,  our  hoarding  up,  our  over-reach¬ 
ing  of  each  other  :  these  haunt  us  in  our  sleep.  Nature 
must  play  second.  Our  natural  habits  we  are  ashamed  of, 
and  hide  them  away  as  we  cover  our  nakedness.  We  take 
no  lesson  even  from  innocent  childhood — glimpses  of  the 


THE  UNNATUKAL. 


37 


2—  -  i _ j#kaeaJ 


kingdom  of  glory — but  our  earliest  recollections  are 
pointings  of  the  finger  of  shame. 

To  be  dignified  is  the  glory  of  civilization.  To  suppress 
natural  laughter,  and  smile  instead,  is  grand  ;  to  “  put  the 
best  side  out,”  and  to  conceal  the  natural  ;  to  pretend  to  be 
greater,  or  better  than  we  are  ;  to  think  more  of  our  looks, 
walk,  manners,  clothing,  and  the  wealth  we  have  robbed 
the  poor  of — this  is  civilization.  To  turn  away  from  one 
poorly  clad,  not  deigning  an  answer  to  a  civil  question  ;  to 
look  coldly  in  the  eye  of  -a  stranger,  without  speaking  when 
accosted,  because  you  have  not  been  introduced  :  this  is 
dignity  ;  this  is  fashionable.  To  bow  down  to  kings, 
Popes,  priests,  and  the  nobility  ;  to  shout  and  hurrah  when 
they  show  themselves  ;  to  toil  to  support  them  in  their 
pomp  and  idleness  ;  to  march  in  serried  columns  to  deadly 
strife  with  each  other  ;  to  murder  each  other  without 
enmity — this  it  is  to  be  civilized. 

The  earth  is  drenched  with  human  gore,  and  her  fair 
fields  are  rich  with  the  bone-dust  of  humanity.  The  glory 
of  one  nation  is  the  destruction  of  another.  What  for  ?  To 
perpetuate  the  damnable  and  unnatural  idea  that  some 
men  are  better  than  others  ;  that  some  were  made  to  rule 
while  others  were  made  to  serve.  Man  has  made  this  earth 
one  vast  pandemonium — a  cesspool,  out  of  which  come 
malarial  vapors  and  malarial  beings,  distorted  in  body,  de¬ 
formed  in  mind,  dwarfed  in  spirit. 

Look  at  the  diabolical  crimes — the  fiendish  actions  of 
men,  the  wrong  and  outrage — at  the  deadly  diseases  con¬ 
stantly  on  the  increase  in  type  and  malignancy — and  then 
say,  if  you  can,  that  these  things  are  natural.  I  cannot. 
Alas  !  how  we  degrade  nature  or  God  in  the  bare  idea.  Not 
willing  to  assume  the  responsibility  that  nature  puts  upon 
him,  he,  ADAM-like,  hides  behind  the  fig  leaves  his  naked- 


38 


THE  UNNATURAL. 


ness,  and  ascribes  to  fate,  nature,  chance  or  necessity  the 
actions  he  is  ashamed  of. 

“Forced  into  the  world,  forced  through  it,  and  forced  out 
again,”  he  thinks  force  will  bear  the  blame,  suffer  the 
penalty,  and  take  all  the  responsibility  of  his  actions  ; 
while  at  the  same  time  he  is  groaning  under  adversity,  and 
suffering  from  disease  resulting  from  his  own  acts,  which 
he  might  have  avoided  with  a  little  knowledge  and  self- 
control. 

The  natural  and  the  unnatural  go  hand  in  hand,  as  mat¬ 
ter  and  sense,  body  and  mind,  the  voluntary  and  involun¬ 
tary,  ignorance  and  knowledge — the  same  as  the  opposite 
poles  of  a  magnet. 

Matter  and  mind  are  the  two  poles  of  an  invisible  mag¬ 
net.  Mind  is  no  more  a  result  of  matter  than  matter  is  a 
result  of  mind.  They  both  exist,  and  are  mutually  depend¬ 
ent,  not  upon  each  other,  but  upon  the  magnet,  or  sense.  In 
the  magnet  we  glimpse  the  supernatural — in  the  magic 

MIRROR - NATURE,  INERTIA,  INDIFFERENCE,  as  an  IMAGE  of  the 

real  reversed.  For  the  real  does  not  appear  on  the  surface, 
in  this  whirl  of  atoms  and  worlds,  and  the  awful  saturnalia 
of  human  passions  ;  but  far  beneath  the  scum  of  civiliza¬ 
tion  lies  the  mirror  all  fogged,  and  obscured  from  all  eyes 
save  those  of  the  spirit.  And  even  the  spirit  cannot  per¬ 
ceive  the  real  except  as  an  image  or  symbol — thrown  by 
perpetual  motion  upon  the  mirror  of  the  mind.  Nature  lies 
far  beneath  this  outward  show,  but  God  is  above  and  com¬ 
prehends  all.  The  real  nature  of  man  is  covered  with  filthy 
rags — with  which  he  has  clothed  himself. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BODY  AND  SPIBIT. 


Man  is  the  ultimate,  or  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life.  The 
lower  orders  of  animate  creatures  may  be  termed  the  roots, 
trunk,  branches,  leaves,  etc., — but  man  is  the  fruit.  Some 
say,  “he  is  an  epitome  of  the  Universe.”  This  is  a  mistaken 
idea.  Men  differ  one  from  another  as  the  lower  animals 
differ,  or  the  various  orders  of  vegetables.  The  apple  is  a 
species  of  fruit,  but  there  are  many  varieties  of  apples. 
However  much  men  differ  in  looks,  form,  manners  and  dis¬ 
position,  there  is  one  peculiarity  noticeable  in  all,  viz:  the 
correspondence  to  the  lower  orders.  Me  all  resemble,  more 
or  less,  some  variety  of  the  lower  orders  ;  and  the  less  the 
resemblance  the  further  is  the  removal  therefrom.  Some 
have  the  tiger,  lion,  vulture,  hawk,  eagle,  sheep,  goat,  cat, 
lynx,  ox,  owl,  serpent,  various  kinds  of  fishes,  etc.,  etc.,  11  acl 
infinitum ,”  predominating.  Some  by  their  build  and  motions 
show  that  they  have  just  come  up  out  of  the  water — or, 
possibly,  may  be  going  back  into  it.  Man  is  an  epitome  of 
the  elements  he  has  developed  up  through.  Me  carry  some¬ 
thing  of  what  we  have  been  along  with  us,  viz :  the  spirit. 

And  some  men,  having  developed  up  through  certain 
elements,  are  an  epitome  of  those  elements,  but  not  of 
others.  Elements  are  infinite  ;  but  power  is  not  based  in 
elements,  neither  can  immortality  be  predicated  therein. 

Animals  are  but  vegetables  cut  loose  at  the  roots  ;  man 
differs  from  them  only  in  degree.  He  has  all  that  they  have, 
and  a  little  more,  generally,  in  some  directions  ;  but  some 
animals  are  nearer  human  than  some  men.  According  to 


40 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


Darwin,  man  has  descended  from  the  ape.  According  to 
my  notion,  there  is  as  much  logic  in  saying  that  the  ape  is 
a  degenerated  man.  “  It  is  a  poor  rule  that  won’t  work  both 
ways.”  If  man  ascends  he  also  descends. 

We  make  distinctions,  in  our  ignorance  of  principles, 
wliick,  in  reality,  do  not  exist.  If  an  animal  can  develop 
into  a  man,  a  man  may  go  down  to  an  animal.  Progression 
is  no  more  a  lawr  than  retrogression.  If  man  ever  had  a 
beginning,  he  certainly  must  have  an  end,  no  matter  how 
long  it  may  be  delayed.  If  he  progress  eternally,  he  cer¬ 
tainly  cannot  always  remain  man.  Progress  means  change, 
growth  to  better  conditions,  and  conditions  change  the  form 
and  nature.  If  man  never  had  a  beginning,  he  can  never 
have  an  end.  But,  suppose  this  idea  to  be  true,  and  pro¬ 
gression  without  retrogression  to  be  the  law  of  being,  is  it 
not  a  little  strange  that  man  is  no  higher  in  the  scale  of 
being  after  having  been  eternally  progressing  ?  Remember, 
the  eternity  of  the  past  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  future. 
"Why  is  he  no  greater,  if  he  has  always  existed  and  been 
always  growing?  If  he  is  merely  an  infant  on  this  earth, 
is  it  logical  to  conclude  that  he  will  remain  the  same  and 
still  keep  on  growing  eternally? 

The  distinctions  “we  make  between  things  are  merely 
arbitrary.  Life  is  one.  Man  has  no  more  right  to  immor¬ 
tality  than  the  brute.  Man,  in  his  pride  and  egotism,  claims 
for  himself  a  special  creation  and  existence  after  death,  but 
denies  it  to  the  brute.  This  is  not  a  logical  deduction.  Man 
is  a  name  merely  that  we  give  to  a  manifestation  of  life  to 
distinguish  it  from  other  manifestations.  We  make  dis¬ 
tinctions  to  ‘which  we  give  names,  which  are  very  satisfactory 
to  most  men.  Like  the  Arkansas  man,  wlio,  when  accosted 
by  a  traveler  asking  information  about  his  way,  instead  of 
giving  the  information  desired,  cocked  his  hat  over  one  eye, 
struck  an  attitude,  and  asked  the  traveler,  aAYliat  mouglit 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


41 


your  name  be,  sir?”  Names  are  very  satisfactory  to  child¬ 
ren,  but  he  who  seeks  for  principles,  cares  little  for  names. 
But  in  order  to  convey  ideas,  and  to  be  understood,  and  to 
distinguish  one  thing  from  another,  names  are  important. 

“  Man,”  then,  is  the  name  given  to  the  highest  type  of  life 
we  are  acquainted  with  on  this  earth,  and  the  term  body  is 
applied  to  the  visible  part.  But  the  real  man  is  an  idea — 
as  much  so  as  that  represented  by  any  piece  of  mechanism. 
(See  definitions  of  ideas  in  previous  parts  of  this  work.) 

In  order  to  a  more  perfect  understanding  of  man  and  his 
powers,  we  will  divide  him  into  parts  ;  but  the  distinctions 
herein  made  are  arbitrary,  and  do  not  really  exist.  Man  is 
composed  of  body,  mind,  spirit  and  soul  ;  or  in  other  words, 
the  ego,  the  thought,  and  the  thing  thought  of  ;  or  power, 
motion,  and  the  thing  moved.  But  these  things  are  an 
unity. 

There  can  be  only  one  ’principle  in  existence.  The  mo¬ 
ment  you  admit  two,  one  bounds  and  limits  the  other.  Very 
suggestive  of  the  positive  and  negative  poles  of  a  magnet. 
Laying  all  speculation  aside,  we  do  not  know  what  “  infin¬ 
ity  ”  is,  more  than  we  know  what  man  or  anything  else  is. 
If  we  should,  at  some  time,  discover  what  it  is,  it  would, 
after  all,  be  only  another  name  added  to  our  vocabulary.  I 
cannot  find  a  name  for  “  her  who  is  nameless ,”  that  third 
thing — the  mother  of  power  and  weakness,  of  God  and  of 
nature.  The  loftiest  thought  cannot  go  beyond  the  realm 
of  things,  for  thought  belongs  to  things.  The  most  fertile 
imagination  cannot  find  a  field  that  does  not  exist,  in  which 
to  revel. 

The  insane  is  as  real  as  the  sane,  although  ive  may  not 
think  it  desirable  or  healthy.  Perhaps  there  are  some  who 
love  insanity.  Who  shall  say  that  the  dividing  line  between 
sanity  and  insanity  is  a  fiction  ?  That  dividing  line — that 
neutral  ground,  is  the  body— matter. 


42 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


Science  is  unable  to  tell  us  of  all  the  substances  that 
compose  the  human  form.  There  is  something  which 
escapes  the  closest  analysis,  or  the  most  subtile  and  search¬ 
ing  thought.  The  scalpel  fails  to  find  the  spirit ;  so  science 
fails  to  find  aught  but  the  dross  of  these  bodies.  There  is 
a  something  hidden  away  in  matter  that  holds  each  atom 
in  its  place  ;  aye  !  and  gives  form  to  all  atoms — which  is 
master,  and  yet  a  prisoner  ;  lord,  but  yet  a  servant.  There 
is  a  something  in  matter  lying  latent  which  is  not  heat  nor 
flame,  but  which,  when  let  loose,  produces  heat,  flame  and 
combustion. 

It  is  the  u  Fire”  the  ancient  Magi  worshipped.  It  is  not 
magnetism,  nor  the  astral  fluid,  neither  is  it  light,  nor 
electricity  ;  for  these  are  but  effects  of  its  freedom.  There 
is  a  spark  lying  dormant  in  matter,  which,  when  aroused  by 
friction,  decomposes  all  forms.  If  set  in  motion  gently 
and  by  degrees,  it  refines  matter  and  causes  growth, 
attracting  and  repelling  matter.  If  struck  out  by  violence, 
it  produces  conflagrations  and  destruction.  Worlds  are 
sustained  and  destroyed  by  this  spark  of  fire.  It  is  a  useful 
servant  to  man,  but  when  it  gets  beyond  his  control  it  is  a 
cruel  and  remorseless  master.  This  Fire  is  the  Spirit. 

It  is  in  all  things,  and  is  the  life  thereof.  In  fact,  things 
are  but  forms  of  spirit  condensed.  Life  is  a  liberation  of 
spirit.  All  matter  evolves  from  itself  an  aura,  peculiar  to 
its  condition.  This  aura  is  produced  by  the  gentle  motion 
of  things,  in  growth  and  in  death.  All  atoms  are  in 
motion,  for  spirit  is  ceaselessly  active. 

Swedenborg  says  there  is  a  sphere  belonging  to  and  sur¬ 
rounding  all  things.  It  is  more  perceptible  in  some  things 
than  in  others.  Baron  Beichenbach  instituted  a  series  of 
experiments  with  various  metals  and  stones  which  he  sub¬ 
mitted  to  sensitive  persons  in  a  darkened  chamber,  and  has 
written  a  work  in  which  he  claims  the  same  thing  as  true, 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


43 


so  far  as  tested  by  him.  This  aura  I  term  spirit,  or  a 
result  of  the  action  of  that  hidden  fire,  which  has  been 
worshipped  in  ancient  days  as  God,  in  honor  of  which  the 
eternal  altar-fires  were  kept  burning,  and  men  bowed  down 
to  the  sun  and  worshipped  Him  as  the  most  perfect  symbol 
of  fire,  or  God. 

All  matter  is  undergoing  change,  and  this  change  is 
growth,  and  growth  is  life,  and  life  is  the  freeing  of  fire  or 
spirit.  All  matter  is  in  a  state  of  combustion  ;  some  forms 
slowly,  others  with  great  intensity.  This  combustion  may 
not  be  perceptible  to  our  dull  senses,  but  that  only  proves 
our  blindness.  Growth  is  the  throwing  off  effete  matter 
and  taking  on  new.  This  is  exactly  the  case  with  violent 
combustion.  A  burning  pile  throws  off  heat,  smoke  and 
flame,  and  draws  to  itself  the  atmosphere,  which,  rushing 
in,  combines  to  increase  the  conflagration.  This  rushing  in 
is  but  the  baptism  of  matter  with  fire,  which  cannot  exist 
without. 

The  body  may  be  likened  to  a  furnace  :  it  must  be  fed 
■with  fuel  ;  and  the  atmosphere  must  meet  that  fuel  in  the 
system,  or  no  fire  is  kindled  and  no  heat  generated.  The 
lungs  are  the  bellows  which  fan  the  fires  of  life.  The 
pores  of  the  body  are  escape  pipes. 

The  atmosphere  is  the  aura  or  spirit  of  the  earth,  and  all 
things  on  the  earth  live  by  inhaling  it.  Thus  it.  may  be 
seen  that  the  spirit  of  one  thing  may  support  another. 
Spirit  absorbs  spirit  by  combination,  the  same  as  fire  ab¬ 
sorbs  the  atmosphere. 

The  body  may  be  likened  to  a  horse-shoe  magnet,  or  a 
combination  of  them.  The  legs  are  suggestive  of  one  ;  the 
arms  of  another.  AYe  are,  in  fact,  a  combination  of  mag¬ 
netic  motors — or,  possibly,  a  galvanic  pile.  May  not  our 
food  furnish  the  alkali,  the  atmosphere  the  acid,  the  union 
of  which  sets  free  the  spirit  (fire)  of  food,  causing  motion* 


44 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


heat,  combustion,  growth  and  life  ?  May  not  the  liver  cor¬ 
respond  to  the  zinc,  and  the  lungs  to  the  copper  plates  of 
a  battery  ?  Connected  by  acids  and  alkalis  in  the  system, 
a  current  is  evolved,  which  dissolves  and  decomposes  food 
as  fire  does  wood.  The  fire  thus  set  free  from  food  becomes 
the  aura  (spirit)  of  the  organism  in  "which  it  was  set  free. 
Thus  our  spirits  are  made  up  in  part  from  that  which  we 
eat.  There  can  be  no  combustion  without  the  union  of 
matter  and  atmosphere.  That  union  is  the  fusion  or 
blending  of  all  forms  into  one,  and  that  one  is  formless, 
viz,  fire  or  spirit. 

PowTer  resides  in  the  formless.  In  the  imponderables 
there  is  freedom,  and  without  freedom  there  is  no  power 
manifested.  To  a  spirit  in  bondage  there  is  the  darkness 
of  matter,  but  a  spirit  set  free  is  living  light,  an  immortal 
fire,  which  consumes  matter  as  the  light  of  a  lamp  con¬ 
sumes  oil.  God  is  Fire,  for  “God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  who 
worship  Him  must  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth.” 

Matter  is  but  fire  that  is  quenched.  All  it  needs  is  bap¬ 
tizing  with  a  spark  from  God,  and  it  begins  to  burn  and 
glow  with  life  as  embers  in  a  furnace  glow  with  light. 
There  is  not  an  atom  in  the  body  that  is  not  vibrating  "with 
the  electric  or  magnetic  fires  wrhich  animate  all  things.  It 
is,  indeed,  burning  with  a  lurid  and  weird  intensity  truly 
amazing.  And  we  might  behold  the  grand  and  sublime 
spectacle  if  it  were  not  for  the  obtuseness  of  our  dull  and 
materialistic  senses.  If  once  beheld,  wre  would  no  longer 
wonder  at  the  vast  amount  of  fuel  required  daily  to  support 
this  ethereal  flame  called  life. 

The  light  emitted  by  these  walking  furnaces — these 
torches,  these  living  machines — varies  in  intensity  and 
volume,  according  to  the  nature  and  quality  of  the  matter 
in  combustion.  Some  lights  are  electric,  radiating  far  and 
near  ;  so  it  is  with  some  men.  Others,  again,  are  small, 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


45 


and  emit  a  soft,  mild  light.  Others,  again,  give  out  only  a 
spark  ;  but  most  bodies  are  so  undeveloped  that  the  fires  of 
life  smoulder,  and  emit  nothing  but  a  fitful  gleam  now  and 
then,  amid  vast  volumes  of  smoke. 

This  light  emitted  by  all  living  beings — nay  !  by  all  things 
mundane  and  supermundane — is  the  spirit.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  matter  in  combustion  which  constitutes  the  aura  of 
plants,  animals  and  men.  The  laws  of  combustion  are  the 
laws  of  the  universe,  and  they  are  the  laws  of  magnetism, — 
action  and  reaction,  attraction  and  repulsion,  an  outgoing 
and  incoming  current — this  is  all. 

Hang  a  gold  coin  on  the  positive  pole  of  a  galvanic 
battery  in  a  solution,  and  a  piece  of  brass  or  copper  on  the 
negative  pole  in  the  solution,  but  not  in  contact  with  the 
coin,  and  the  result  is,  the  positive  galvanic  current  dissolves 
the  gold  and  carries  it  over  to  the  negative,  where  it  is  de¬ 
posited  upon  the  piece  of  brass.  Electro-magnetic  physi¬ 
cians  know  that  they  can  increase  the  vital  powers  of  any 
portion  of  the  system  by  the  application  of  the  negative 
electrode  thereto  ;  and  that  they  can  reduce  the  action  of 
any  part  by  the  application  of  the  positive. 

Thus  it  is  demonstrated  that  matter  is  dissolved  and  car¬ 
ried  from  one  part  of  the  system  to  another,  where  it  may 
be  deposited,  or  even  carried  out  of  the  body.  Now,  we 
know  that  the  female  principle  is  the  productive,  or  the 
principle  wherein  matter  is  combined  into  forms  of  life, 
and  that  the  masculine  is  the  principle  from  which  such 
life  or  matter  comes  in  solution,  as  the  gold  from  the 
positive  electrode 

Every  human  being  is  a  magnet,  which  evolves  a  positive 
force  from  itself,  which  dissolves  and  appropriates  to  the 
body  material  of  various  kinds  from  food,  and  conveys  it  to 
renew  the  decaying  tissues,  while  it  also  repels  and  elimi¬ 
nates  that  which  is  devitalized. 


4  G 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


But  the  negative  principle  or  force  is  not  evolutive,  but 
receptive,  in  which  the  positive  deposits  its  burden  of 
spirit.  Thus  is  the  body  constantly  renewed  by  a  process 
little  thought  of,  viz  :  that  of  impregnation  and  gestation. 
All  motion  is  magnetic  ;  and  this  is  only  another  name 
given  to  the  manifestation  of  fire — combustion.  All  things 
are  in  a  state  of  combustion — some  gently  :  this  is  growth 
and  progress  ;  others  with  intensity,  as  a  conflagration,  in 
which  the  body  is  reduced  to  ashes,  and  the  life  of  it  back 
“to  God  who  gave  it.” 

If  attraction  overbalance  repulsion  there  is  a  slow  com¬ 
bustion,  a  smouldering  of  the  fire,  in  which  other  forms  of 
matter  appear  (charcoal  for  instance).  This  is  exactly  the 
case  with  nature  ;  the  half- extinguished  fires  of  life  pre¬ 
serve  the  form  for  a  space  of  time.  But  notice  the  slow 
and  certain  change  of  form  from  infancy  to  old  age,  show¬ 
ing  that  repulsion  is  master  after  all.  If  repulsion  over¬ 
balance  attraction  there  is  a  rapid  conflagration,  and  forms 
of  matter  disappear  in  smoke,  vapor,  heat  and  flame,  to 
nothing — “not  even  to  the  blue  sky.” 

It  is  to  attraction  that  childhood  ow^es  its  ruby  cheeks  and 
lips,  and  its  exuberance  of  life.  The  immortal  fires  sparkle 
in  its  eye,  and  glow  in  its  soft  and  rounded  flesh  through 
which  it  shines,  ere  shame  has  come  to  crimson  the  cheek 
and  brow  with  a  more  lurid  light,  with  a  more  intense  com¬ 
bustion,  in  which  the  forms  of  youth  change  rapidly. 

To  repulsion  we  owe  the  lustreless  eye,  pallid  cheek,  the 
grey  hairs  and  wrinkles  of  age  ;  aye  !  the  death  of  the  body 
comes  through  excess  of  repulsion.  A  proper  balance  is 
marriage,  in  which  more  things  are  generated  than  has  yet 
been  dreamed  of. 

The  aura  or  spirit  obeys  the  same  laws.  The  positive 
contains  the  seminal  principle,  which  it  deposits,  when  it 
meets  the  negative,  which  immediately  returns  to  the  body 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


47 


(the  womb)  with  its  new  found  treasure,  with  elements  of 
spirit  that  combine  in  the  system  with  positive  elements, 
forming  new  blood,  new  tissue,  new  vigor. 

Violent  combustion  is  destructive  to  forms  of  matter,  but 
the  compounds  resulting  therefrom  are  of  incalculable  value 
to  mankind.  The  ashes  of  wood  are  a  compound  resulting 
from  combustion,  but  how  much  of  its  chemical  properties 
come  from  the  atmosphere  is  not  known ;  nor  is  it  known 
how  much  came  from  that  invisible  fire  or  spirit  which 
resides  in  a  negative  state  in  the  air  we  breathe  and 
burn. 

Science,  a  great  thing  in  the  eyes  of  Professors,  but  is  a 
mere  infant  as  yet.  It  may  be  a  promising  baby,  but  it 
still  needs  nursing.  The  body  is  condensed  aura  or  spirit, 
which  liberated  by  motion  flows  around  it  as  light  flows 
from  a  candle,  passing  out  positive  and  returning  negative. 
The  condition  of  the  matter  (body)  in  combustion  deter¬ 
mines  the  brilliancy  and  power  of  the  light. 

Of  the  constituent  elements  of  the  body,  science  says 
there  are  many,  and  goes  on  to  name  them.  But,  gentle¬ 
men,  with  all  respect  for  your  knowledge,  your  analysis  and 
tests,  your  acids  and  crucibles,  I  must  say  I  question  your 
conclusions.  Why  ?  Because  a  dead  body  is  not  the  same 
as  a  living  one.  The  moment  it  is  dead  it  is  in  another 
condition;  the  elements  are  changed  and  continue  to 
change  till  there  is  nothing  left  of  them.  Analyze  a  dead 
bone,  (you  cannot  analyze  a  live  one),  and  you  get  com¬ 
pounds  to  which  you  give  names;  but  names  prove  nothing. 
In  your  crucible,  retort  and  receiver  the  spirit  of  the 
universe  is  adding  itself  to  your  work ;  in  fact ,  it  is  doing 
the  work  itself.  You  do  not  know  how  much  of  your  own 
spirit  enters  into  combination  with  the  elements  you  are 
manipulating.  Then  why  such  a  parade  of  knowledge  ? 


48 


BODY  AND  SPIRIT. 


We  don’t  yet  know  the  first  letter  of  the  alphabet  of 
science. 

Take  a  tub  of  earth  and  weigh  it;  then  in  it  plant  a  seed. 
After  a  time  yon  will  have  a  tree;  remove  the  tree,  and 
again  weigh  the  tub  of  earth,  and  see  how  much  less  it 
weighs.  You  will  find  that  the  tree  is  made  up  almost 
entirely  from  the  atmosphere;  which,  indeed,  is  the  spirit 
of  the  earth.  Forms  are  a  condensation  of  the  invisible. 

The  earth  is  none  the  less  for  having  produced  inanimate 
and  animate  things.  A  mother  is  not  made  less  by  child¬ 
bearing.  The  light  of  a  lamp  is  not  lessened  by  lighting 
other  lamps.  The  human  brain  is  not  reduced  by  giving 
thought  and  ideas  to  the  world,  but  its  capacity  is  increased 
thereby.  It  is  said  that  “man  is  like  a  candle:  when  the 
light  goes  out  he  is  no  more.”  I  do  not  agree  to  this. 
Light  is  an  effect  cf  combustion;  so  is  the  manifestation 
called  life.  But  light  is  greater  than  oil,  as  spirit  is  greater 
than  matter,  or  as  motives  are  greater  than  acts. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  MIND. 


We  have  many  so-called  sciences  of  mind,  prominent 
among  which  is  phrenology.  This  is  recognized  as  a 
science  by  most  thinkers.  The  brain  is  recognized  as  the 
organ  of  tho  mind,  and  mind  is  treated  of  as  an  entity— the 
Soul.  I  regard  mind  as  an  effect  of  organization.  It  is  a 
something  the  soul  has  developed  to  enable  it  to  come  in 
contact  "with,  and  to  handle  matter.  The  idiot  has  no  mind, 
but  he  has  the  power  to  suffer  and  enjoy.  Now,  it  cannot 
logically  be  held  that  sense  is  mind,  or  that  instinct  is- 

mind  ;  infants  have  no  mind,  but  they  have  the  capacity  to‘ 

« 

develop  mind.  Thus  mind  is  a  thing  that  grows  and  dies 
like  a  vegetable.  Mind  is  a  manifestation  of  the  soul,  com¬ 
posed  of  various  powers  or  faculties.  My  mind  is  a 
machine  I  have  made.  It  belongs  to  me,  as  my  body  or 
my  coat  belongs  to  me.  It  is  my  property.  I  may  be 
robbed  of  it  as  I  may  be  of  my  money.  True  !  When  my 
mind  is  gone  I  am  driven  back,  as  it  were,  to  a  condition 
where  sense  remains,  but  memory,  reason,  judgment  and 
will  are  not. 

Mind  is  to  me  what  the  rudder  is  to  a  ship.  By  the  use 
of  it  I  sail  my  frail  bark  over  the  stormy  seas  of  this  life. 
Without  it  I  am  drifting  like  a  piece  of  drift-wood  wherever 
the  waves  toss  me.  As  a  man  without  property  is  con¬ 
sidered  nobody,  so  man  without  a  mind  is,  in  fact,  a  cipher. 

As  sense  is  the  first  manifestation  of  the  soul,  mind  is 
the  second,  and  the  body  is  the  third.  But  to  observation 


50 


THE  MIND. 


the  reverse  seems  to  be  true,  inasmuch  as  the  body  seems 
first,  mind  second,  and  the  soul - blank. 

Sense  surrounds  the  soul  as  the  atmosphere  surrounds 
the  earth,  and  constitutes  a  sensorium  upon  which  all 
things  are  photographed,  all  sounds  vibrated,  all  thoughts 
and  emotions  reflected.  It  is  sense  which  separates  things, 
holds  each  atom  and  each  body  in  place,  and  establishes 
the  relationship  governing.  It  is  the  sense  of  a  thing 
which  constitutes  it  a  thing.  Without  sense  things  could 
not  exist. 

Without  feeling  there  is  no  contact.  Without  hearing, 
no  sound  ;  without  light,  no  colors,  no  beauty,  no  deformity. 
Sense  does  all  things  :  it  is  God.  The  awakening  of 
our  dull  senses  is  like  unto  an  egg  in  incubation.  The  soul 
is  the  germ.  The  sense  is  the  beautiful  arrangement  and 
adjustment  of  vital  elements  hermetically  sealed  up  in  a 
shell  (body).  Without  this  sealing  up,  this  isolation  or  in¬ 
sulation,  this  partition  between  us  and  God,  we  could  not 
exist.  These  bodies  stand  guard  over  our  souls  to  preserve 
individuality.  They  are  our  preservation  from  the  Infinite. 
The  lightnings  are  chained  down,  bottled  up,  suspended  in 
liquid  form  in  the  egg,  as  fire  quenched  by  water  in  wood, 
coal,  or  storm-cloud.  These  bodies  are  important.  Their 
quality  varies,  according  to  the  power  contained  therein,  as 
the  shells  of  eggs  vary.  They  subserve  the  end  of  solidi¬ 
fying  the  fire  into  organic  life.  When  that  is  accomplished 
the  shell  becomes  rotten,  and  the  fully-developed  chick 
works  its  way  out,  into  a  new  life,  or,  rather,  another  stage 
of  the  same  life,  for  there  is  only  one  life — the  life  of  sense 
or  of  God. 

“Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  .”  “  The  Kingdom  of  God”  is  only  another 

and  higher  stage  of  life,  and  no  man  can  enter  it  save 
through  the  gestation  and  birth  of  a  Divine  Body. 


THE  MIND. 


51 


All !  the  mysteries  of  being.  Thou  insignificant  egg  ! 
Thou  boldest  in  solution  the  incomprehensible  mystery  of 
God  and  eternity  !  In  thy  darkened  chambers  God  is 
waiting  !  Thy  spherical  form  speaks  of  revolution  as  the 
primal  law  of  all  being  !  “  Hermetically  sealed” — so 

secure  from  curious  eyes,  so  full  of  “  the  elixir  of  life,”  and 
yet  so  fragile  !  Thou  art  the  fiame-tip  liquified  !  Pure, 
beautiful  thing  !  Containing  in  thyself  infinity,  soul,  mind, 
body  and  spirit  !  What  doth  thy  hatching  signify  if  it  be 
not  immortality  ?  Thy  wings  speak  of  flight  and  liberty, 
thy  lungs  of  inspiration,  thine  eyes  of  light,  beauty,  im¬ 
mortality  and  the  beholding  of  it.  Thy  instinct  speaks  of 
intuition  and  all  knowing  !  Even  the  hovering  of  the  Hen 
over  thee  typifies  the  “brooding”  care,  and  life-giving 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit !  Art  thou  evolved  from  the 
“  black  muck,”  thou  pure,  white  thing  ?  Can  mud  see  ?  or 
can  it  make  eyes  like  thine  ?  Can  it  think  ?  or  can  it  evolve 
a  thought  or  a  thing  capable  of  thought  ?  Or,  rather ,  didst 
thou  not  descend,  little  chick — as  descends  the  glory  of  the 
night — from  the  “  mystery  of  the  shadow  ?” 

As  an  egg  in  incubation  receives  heat,  first  in  the  shell, 
and  secondly  in  the  albumen,  so  do  impressions  come  to  the 
mind  through  the  body  by  contact  with  the  outer  world. 
The  heat  which  causes  growth  of  vegetation,  animals  and 
men  comes  from  without,  and  it  is  through  pressure,  con¬ 
tact  or  impressions.  Nature  is  to  man  what  the  hen  is  to 
the  egg.  Physical  contact  is  required  to  warm  up  and  in¬ 
fluence  things  that  have  little  sense  ;  but  to  those  who  have 
mind,  there  is  a  spiritual  contact  or  impact,  far  more  potent 
and  far-reaching. 

It  is  considered  that  man  has  five  senses  :  feeling,  hear¬ 
ing,  seeing,  smelling  and  tasting.  But  I  claim  that  there 
are  many  faculties  of  the  mind,  and  only  one  sense.  Sense 
is  nearest  the  soul,  the  mind  comes  next.  Through  the 


52 


THE  MIND. 


mind  the  sense  receives  the  tire  which  quickens  the  germ  in 
the  soul,  or  the  egg.  Sense  may  be  said  to  be  feeling.  Wo 
see  a  lovely  flower — we  feel  pleasure.  If  it  be  some  horrible 
sight  we  are  pained.  We  may  see  it  at  a  distance,  but  the 
effect  is  the  same. 

We  come  in  contact  with  that  which  we  see,  hear  and 
smell,  as  much  as  we  do  by  taste  or  touch.  We  see  sights 
that  electrify  us.  We  hear  sounds  that  startle  and  urge  us. 
to  action,  as  much  as  if  we  had  been  struck  a  blow.  We 
come  in  contact  with  things  and  phenomena  at  a  distance 
by  sight  and  hearing,  of  things  nearer  by  touch  and  smell¬ 
ing,  but  it  is  all  feeling  after  all.  The  nerves  of  taste  aro 
only  a  little  more  acute  than  those  of  the  hands.  WT e  smell 
the  aroma  of  a  rose,  and  we  know  it  is  near,  although  it 
may  be  hidden.  We  are  in  contact  with  the  rose,  for  we 
have  received  something  from  it  that  has  made  an  impres¬ 
sion  upon  us.  Its  spirit  has  met  ours,  and  entering  in,  has 
added  some  fuel  to  the  fire  burning  within.  New  combi¬ 
nations  have  been  formed  within  us,  and  the  rose  has  added 
its  fire  to  ours. 

Our  spirits  glow  with  a  purer  light  from  the  contact  of 
love  and  beauty.  All  things  grow  by  pressure,  contact  or 
impressions.  The  impressions  we  receive  in  our  journey 
through  life,  from  the  gentle  caress  of  love  to  the  discord 
and  clash  of  opposing  conditions,  are  but  for  the  reception 
of  that  Divine  fire  we  worshipped  in  the  past. 

Each  object  we  meet  imparts  its  fire;  each  experience  we 
have,  from  the  joys  of  a  mother’s  heart  to  the  despair  of  the 
hopeless,  is  from  the  pressure  mother  nature  gives,  as  she 
warms  and  hatches  her  brood.  If  we  live  properly  we  grow 
stronger  and  stronger  in  all  that  makes  the  true  man,  till 
the  rotting  shell  (his  body)  bursts,  and  we  fly  away  to 
realms  of  immortal  life. 

Pressure  comes  by  attraction,  and  thi3  produces  growth 


THE  MIND. 


53 


by  the  gentle  heat  generated  thereby;  but  the  contact 
which  comes  by  force  is  from  repulsion,  and  is  death  by 
conflagration.  Fire  struck  out  by  force  is  destructive.  By 
attraction  we  receive  what  we  need,  but  by  force  more  than 
we  need,  and  often  that  which  is  sickening. 

Ask  the  pale,  sickly  mothers  of  the  land  if  this  is  not 
God’s  truth!  There  is  a  mental  or  spiritual  contact  of 
things,  whose  limit  is  unknown.  It  is  not  possible  for  us 
to  think  of  a  thing,  principle  or  state  of  being  that  does 
not  exist  somewhere,  within  or  without  the  domain  of 
“nature.”  To  think  of  a  thing  intensely  is  to  see  it  in  the 
mind;  and  this  sight  is  clairvoyance. 

To  see  a  thing  is  to  feel  it;  this  is  contact,  pressure, 
impressions.  The  pressure  upon  the  brain  of  a  thinker 
shows  the  power  of  thought  and  its  contact.  The  pleasure 
he  feels  in  giving  birth  to  that  which  he  hopes  will  do  the 
world  a  great  good,  shows  the  baptism  with  fire  we  read  of 
in  the  Scriptures. 

Thought  is  the  lightning’s  flash.  It  penetrates.  It  is 
the  sunlight.  It  warms  and  gives  color  to  life.  It  dwells 
in  all  things,  for  all  things  are  suggestive  of  thought. 
They  provoke  us  to  think.  If  we  will  not  think,  they  send 
the  plague,  the  famine,  and  a  slow  decay.  There  are  some 
rotten  eggs  in  every  nest.  Thought  calls  us  out  from  our¬ 
selves,  from  our  knowledge  of  our  weakness  and  follies — 
and  then  wTe  are  great.  To  dwell  in  thought  among  the 
stars  is  to  be  in  contact  with  the  Gods,  and  to  receive  from 
them  wdiat  otherwise  wTe  should  not  have.  Thought  is  a 
stimulant :  it  intoxicates.  To  be  drunk  with  thought  is  to 
provoke  mirth,  like  any  drunken  man. 

The  sun  illumines  a  little  space  on  the  earth,  but  the 
darkness  is  before  and  behind,  and  all  around.  Like  a 
coward  it  flees  away  as  the  sun  approaches,  and  like  a 


54 


THE  MIND. 


coward  it  follows  close  behind,  as  follows  the  past  upon 
the  present. 

We  cannot  stand  still:  we  must  move  on.  The  little 
thought  we  have  flashes  out  into  the  darkness  before  and 
behind.  Memory  looks  back  at  the  gloom  of  almost  for¬ 
gotten  joys,  and  from  the  dim  twilight  of  the  past  come  the 
ghosts  of  evil  deeds.  Our  weakness  and  follies  appear 
gigantic.  They  are  alive  and  active,  but  the  little  good  wre 
have  done  is  scarcely  perceptible — is  feeble,  is  crowded 
back,  like  a  small  boy  in  a  crowd. 

Thought  flashes  a  ray  of  hope — of  prescience;  and  the 
world  follows  its  light  with  a  deathless  trust.  For  it,  they 
tax  themselves  to  build  churches  and  to  support  an  army  of 
priests.  For  this  ray  of  light,  this  spark  of  Divine  fire, 
they  go  hungry  and  in  rags,  patiently.  "Who  shall  say 
there  is  not  a  pressure  here,  a  contact  as  close  as  that  of 
matter,  impressions  that  move  the  souls  of  mankind  ? 

We  gain  knowledge,  laboriously,  in  the  collection  of 
facts;  but  these  facts  must  be  digested  by  the  mind  before 
they  can  be  of  use.  Thought,  reason,  analysis,  are  the 
stomach  of  the  mind.  Here  the  fire  is  extracted  from  facts, 
as  life  is  from  food  in  the  physical  stomach.  Doubt  is 
indigestion.  He  who  digests  the  facts  and  phenomena  of 
life,  and  still  doubts  the  immortality  of  man,  has  mental 
dyspepsia.  He  does  not  get  the  fire,  and  consequently  his 
spiritual  nature  lacks  warmth. 

He  who  properly  digests  the  facts  of  life  grows  warm  and 
tender,  and  stronger  in  his  trust  towards  others.  He  dreams 
of  immortality,  for  its  fact  is  impressed  on  his  mind.  In 
his  dreams  the  mind  becomes  telescopic,  and  he  sees  that 
which  the  doubter  scoffs  at.  But,  nevertheless,  he  grows 
stronger  and  stronger  in  his  belief. 

Long  years  ago  I  became  very  much  interested  in  clair¬ 
voyance.  I  wished  to  attain  the  power.  I  read  much  and 


THE  MIND. 


55 


thought  more.  Sat  in  “  circles,”  used  magnets,  insulated 
stools,  galvanic  bandages ;  in  fact,  exhausted  all  the  methods 
within  my  reach,  but  with  the  exception  of  a  few  “  clouds” 
and  “  flashes  of  light,”  my  spiritual  sight  remained  obscured. 
It  was  late  one  stormy  night  in  winter,  in  the  little  cottage 
on  the  hill,  overlooking  “the  father  of  waters,”  that,  after 
having  lain  on  a  couch  for  an  hour  as  usual,  with  a  huge 
magnet  in  contact  with  my  head,  I  retired  to  bed,  feeling 
sad  and  low-spirited.  I  lay  for  a  time  listening  to  the 
moaning  and  wailing  of  the  winds,  and  pondering  upon 
the  subject  which  at  that  time  engrossed  my  entire  being. 
All  at  once  I  became  conscious  of  a  presence  in  my  room. 
It  was  intensely  dark  to  the  natural  eye,  but  I  saw  clearly 
an  old  man,  tall  and  majestic,  with  a  lofty  brow,  deeply 
plowed  with  thought-lines;  mild,  gentle  expression,  long, 
white  beard,  and  hair  that  fell  on  his  shoulders.  He  held 
in  his  hand  a  brass  rim,  inclosing  a  circular  glass.  He  held 
it  up  and  asked  me  to  examine  it.  I  did  so  and  found  it  a 
mirror.  He  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  not  only 
reflected  objects,  but  retained  the  images  impressed  there¬ 
on.  “  This,”  said  he,  “  is  the  human  mind,  which  ordi¬ 
narily  has  the  power  of  Reflection  and  Retention”  (memory). 
He  then  pressed  his  thumbs  upon  the  glass  holding  the 
rim  with  his  fingers.  It  sunk  with  much  difficulty  under 
the  pressure  to  the  depth  of  the  rim.  The  glass  then 
seemed  a  shade  smaller,  but  was  still  inclosed  as  before  by 
a  brass  rim.  I  looked  in  the  dish-like  mirror,  and  it 
seemed  clouded;  and  strange,  fanciful  objects  flitted  across 
its  surface.  Again  he  applied  the  pressure,  and  with  some 
effort  the  disk  became  deeper.  Again  I  looked;  the  clouds 
had  partially  disappeared,  and  dimly  seen,  deep  down  in 
the  mirror,  as  if  in  the  far  distance,  a  lurid  light  sent  fitful 
gleams  across  the  surface  in  the  mirror.  Said  he:  “The 
mind,  like  this  mirror,  has  the  power  of  elongation.  Like 


56 


THE  MIND. 


this,  the  two  first  sections  are  very  difficult  to  start;  but 
these  accomplished,  and  the  rest  come  easily.”  And  he 
shoved  rim  after  rim  out  to  the  number  of  seven ,  and  then 
bade  me  look.  I  looked,  and  lo!  the  wonders  of  the 
universe  were  revealed.  The  light  was  clearer  than  the 
brightest  I  ever  saw.  The  ineffable  glory  of  creative  prin¬ 
ciple  flashed  like  lightning  upon  my  brain.  I  could  not 
bear  the  steady  flame,  and  turned  my  wondering  eye3  to  the 
face  of  “  the  stranger.”  He  smiled,  and  said:  “  The  mind 
has  a  telescopic  power,  little  known  to  mortals.  When 
once  attained,  there  are  no  secrets  that  may  not  be  dis¬ 
covered.”  And  then  he  and  the  “Magic  Mirror”  were 
gone.  But  I  have  not  forgotten  the  lesson. 

In  these  pages,  if  you  can  comprehend  the  ideas,  you 
will  find  a  verification  of  its  truth,  and  the  guide-posts  on 
the  road  to  power.  We  can  never  know  a  thing  or  princi¬ 
ple  except  by  contact  therewith.  Ideas  grow  in  the  mind 
as  vegetation  grows  in  the  earth.  Thoughts  are  the  letters 
of  a  word  ;  the  word  is  part  of  a  sentence.  A  complete 
sentence  or  a  combination  of  incomplete  sentences,  con¬ 
tains  an  idea. 

The  word  is  the  beginning  of  speech,  or  the  first  material¬ 
ization  of  an  idea.  Hence  St.  John  says,  “  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word.”  Now  we  may  think  and  think  till  we  are 
exhausted,  but  if  we  conceive  no  idea,  and  think  it  out  to  a 
clear  and  perfect  definition,  it  will  do  us  no  good  ;  it  is  like 
a  plant  struck  by  frost,  or  withered  by  drouth.  But  if,  in 
our  analysis  of  facts,  we  conceive  an  idea — no  matter  how 
vague — and  dwell  upon  it  in  thought,  it  gradually  takes 
form  and  grows  to  maturity. 

Maturity  is  a  perfected  idea.  When  an  idea  is  matured  in 
the  mind  it  enters  into  the  soul,  and  becomes  an  integral 
part  of  the  thinker,  and  he  is  changed  thereby. 

We  are  changed  by  our  thoughts.  That  which  leads  us 


THE  MIND. 


57 


upward  towards  the  good  is  expansive  ;  hence,  creative  of 
power  :  but  that  which  is  debasing  leads  downward,  and  is 
contraction,  hence  destructive  to  power.  The  soul  expands 
by  fire,  but  contracts  for  want  of  it.  Fire  is  power  ;  and 
weakness  is  for  want  of  it.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  fore¬ 
going  that  the  mind  occupies  an  important  position. 

Everything  that  reaches  the  soul  must  pass  through  it  in 
the  form  of  ideas.  For  the  soul  is  an  idea  itself,  and 
nothing  can  enter  the  soul  that  is  foreign  to  it.  Fire  is  the 
spirit  in  which  ideas  reside. 

If  man  were  natural,  there  could  be  no  progress,  for  he 
would  be  in  a  state  of  indifference.  But,  being  unnatural, 
he  is  progressive  and  intense — i.  e.,  insane  in  his  mind.  . 
The  real  appears  to  him  as  unreal,  and  the  unreal  as  the 
real.  From  this  cause  he  looks  upon  the  body  as  the  man, 
and  the  mind  as  the  effect  of  the  body — like  “  the  blaze  of 
a  candle” — and  laughs  at  the  idea  of  a  soul  or  spirit.  This 
state  of  the  mind  is  termed  natural.  I  call  it  unnatural. 
But  we  cannot  help  being  unnatural  on  account  of  our 
ignorance.  Ignorance  always  blunders — weakness  always 
falls.  The  first  act  of  the  natural  was  a  fall,  for  he  was 
ignorant.  When  fallen  he  struggles  to  stand  erect,  for  he 
has  knowledge  of  an  erect  posture.  The  unnatural  is  pro¬ 
gressive. 

The  mind  is  not  a  thing,  but  rather  a  law  or  mode  of 
action  of  the  soul.  It  is  a  duality — “  two  in  one.”  The 
natural  and  rational  are  the  two,  which,  united  in  harmony, 
are  the  Divine  One.  The  Divine  is  first  of  all — the  sen- 
sorium  of  the  soul,  as  evidenced  by  the  intuition  and  inno¬ 
cence  of  childhood,  and  the  instinct  of  animals,  etc.  From 
it  comes  all  that  exists. 

In  the  creation  of  man  instinct  was  suspended  by  a 
reversal,  or  depolarization  of  it,  in  which  it  was  dissolved 
as  it  were  and  scattered,  and  became  the  seeds  of  many 


58 


THE  MIND. 


faculties.  Each  and  every  faculty  of  the  mind  has  instinct 
as  its  foundation.  This  scattering  or  division  of  instinct  may 
have  been,  and  undoubtedly  was,  a  slow  process,  occupying 
many  ages. 

Man  is  the  only  thing  that  comes  into  existence  totally 
helpless,  totally  blank  of  intelligence:  hence  it  must  have 
culminated  in  his  creation. 

The  tossing  waves  of  instinct,  torn  from  the  depths  of 
creation’s  ocean,  tossed  to  mountain  heights,  and  beaten  to 
froth,  subsided  in  a  great  calm !  Anon,  a  breath  of  the 
Infinite  fanned  the  great  deep,  and  man  sprang  into  being ! 

This  calm  is  a  great  rest  of  nature  as  she  gathers  her 
forces  for  another  effort:  it  is  the  soul  as  it  expands;  the 
vacuum  that  provokes  motion.  The  tornado  was  coming; 
all  nature  held  its  breath  in  expectancy!  It  came  in  the 
shape  of  mind.  Ever  since  its  advent  there  has  been  no 
more  calm.  From  sun  to  sun,  from  star  to  star,  from  pole 
to  pole,  from  centre  to  circumference,  there  is  agitation. 
Nature  seems  torn  from  her  moorings.  Her  steady  and 
quiet  ways  seem  broken  in  upon  as  by  a  God.  She  is  all 
turned  topsy  turvy.  And  she,  good  dame,  has  joined  in  the 
mad  revelry,  as  at  her  own  nuptials.  Nature  seems  to  have 
departed  from  her  usual  methods ;  an  innovation  has  been 
made,  as  if  the  absent  Lord  had  returned,  or  a  god  had 
descended!  From  this  point — from  this  great  calm,  this 
rest  and  expansion,  this  birth — work  is  the  law.  The  first 
effort  was  a  failure  because  there  was  no  guide,  no  knowl¬ 
edge.  A  failure !  Such  a  thing  was  unknown  to  nature. 
Astonished  and  bewildered,  the  soul  shrinks  and  collapses 
in  giving  the  awful  thing  birth !  A  failure !  If  being  forced 
back  from  multiplicity  to  unity — if  being  compelled  in  a 
new  creation  to  go  back  to  the  starting  point — indifferent 
sense — to  work  outward  again  to  multiplicity — if  this  be  a 
failure,  then  man  is  a  failure.  And  every  man  who  weeps 


THE  MIND. 


59 


over  the  weaknesses,  follies  and  sufferings  of  poor  benighted 
humanity,  recognizes  it  as  such.  Every  man  who  has  an 
idea  of  improving  the  race  knows  there  is  something 
wrong. 

But  nature,  like  an  over-indulgent  mother,  says  to  her 
child:  “It  is  no  failure,  my  child;  try  again.”  And  sink¬ 
ing  herself  in  her  great  love  for  him,  becomes  the  involun¬ 
tary  powers  of  her  child.  For  her  spoiled  child  she  bears 
patiently  every  abuse.  She  breathes  for  him  while  he 
sleeps.  She  labors  as  he  directs ;  while  he,  visionary  that 
he  is,  is  busy  building  castles  in  the  air.  She  walks,  if  he 
says  walk;  he  takes  no  thought  of  the  distance  or  the  steps: 
all  he  has  to  do  is  to  direct  her.  If  he  fails  to  point  the 
way,  through  forgetfulness,  she  goes  astray,  for  she  seems 
to  be  blind  ;  but  she  keeps  on  walking  till  he  says  stop.  If, 
in  his  perversity,  he  takes  up  some  habit  that  will  eventually 
ruin  him,  she  adapts  herself  to  his  whim,  and  carries  it  on 
without  his  volition,  even  to  his  death  ;  when  he  forgets  it, 
she  reminds  him  of  it.  In  his  sleep  she  still  labors  for  him 
to  restore  the  waste  of  his  unnatural  life  ;  still  whispering, 
“  Try  again” 

If  he  hates,  she  keeps  it  in  his  mind.  If  he  resolves  to 
commit  some  crime,  she  assists  him  as  readily  as  to  do  a 
good  act,  always  whispering,  “  Try  again” 

If  an  incurable  disease  attacks  her  child,  she  fights  for 
him  while  he  directs,  and  in  the  manner  that  he  directs, 
but  when  he  loses  control  she  joins  forces  with  the  adversary 
to  hurry  on  the  work  of  dissolution.  Even  in  death  she 
reminds  him  of  his  habits.  Nature  seems  to  be  a  blind 
force,  an  indifferent  thing,  if  it  be  a  thing.  She  knows 
nothing,  feels  nothing;  she  simply  furnishes  us  with  the 
power  to  think  and  feel,  whispering,  “  Try  again!” 

It  is  no  fiction, — the  fall  of  man, — but  it  is  an  allegorical 
representation  of  a  truth:  or,  in  other  words,  the  effort  of  a 


60 


THE  MIND. 


great  mind  to  explain  the  life  we  live — the  principles  of 
being.  The  acts  we  do,  furnish  the  light  of  experience. 
The  man  who  trusts  in  himself  and  walks  out  boldly  gains 
the  most.  He  who  trusts  in  God,  although  the  happiest, 
gains  the  least  knowledge.  If  we  fall  and  hurt  ourselves, 
we  have  the  freedom  to  climb  up  again.  And  though  we 
may  not  climb  back  to  the  same  place,  we  may  go  higher. 

Ever  since  the  “  fall,”  man  has  been  scaling  the  precipices 
of  his  weaknesses  and  failures.  The  point  I  call  your 
attention  to  is  this :  All  acts  have  their  beginning  and  incep¬ 
tion  in  the  mind.  Hence  all  violation  of  law,  with  their 
attendant  pain,  disease,  weakness,  and  death,  spring  from 
mind.  All  violation  is  a  creation.  Hence  all  creation  is  a 

MENTAL  PRODUCT. 

As  acts  flow  from  the  mind,  so  matter  flows  from  the 
mind;  for  acts  materialized  are  matter.  This  being  so,  the 
more  Divine  the  mind  is,  the  greater  will  its  creative  power 
be.  The  evolution  of  matter  from  itself  having  any  quality 
or  form,  or  the  dissolving  of  matter  already  formed,  by  the 
suspension  of  atomic  laws,  is  logical,  and  within  the  range 
of  man’s  power,  as  a  Divine  Being.  As  a  creator,  all 
creation  is  in  his  grasp,  and  he  is  therefore  the  architect  of 
himself,  and  his  heavens  or  his  hells.  The  conception  of  a 
thing  is  the  beginning  of  its  growth.  Hell  grows  out  of 
our  minds:  so  also  does  heaven;  but  hell  is  largest.  So 
also  a  Divine  body  may  be  grown  by  conception,  gestation 
and  birth  in  the  mind. 

Hell  is  fed  by  our  desires  to  see  our  enemies  suffer,  and 
from  a  spirit  of  retaliation  and  revenge. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


The  natural  mind  is  the  common  mind.  It  receives  its 
impressions  through  the  five  senses  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
wholly  from  external  nature.  To  it  belong  observation, 
memory  and  reflection.  All  things  of  this  mundane  sphere 
reflect  themselves  upon  the  mind  as  in  a  mirror.  This  mind 
grows  and  expands  by  the  collection  of  facts,  but  the  con¬ 
clusions  of  it  are  material  as  the  facts  themselves.  For  this 
reason  the  natural  mind  cannot  conceive  of  a  spiritual  or 
future  state  of  existence  ;  its  utmost  powers  enable  it  only 
to  reach  .the  plane  of  knowledge,  or  the  manipulation  of 
matter.  The  knowledge  gained  by  it  is  the  sciences  and 
philosophy  of  material  things  ;  it  adapts  man  to  this 
“bread-and-butter5’  life.  Its  analysis  is  destructive  ;  hence 
to  it  belongs  doubt,  skepticism,  unbelief,  and  the  impossible  ; 
pride,  lust,  hate,  fear,  avarice,  deceit  and  invention  are  its 
controlling  powers.  The  interior  of  this  mind  being  closed 
up,  there  is  no  reflection  from  any  other  way  than  from 
without.  The  soul  is  denied,  because  it  cannot  be  seen  or 
handled ;  its  presence  is  unfelt,  by  reason  of  the  hardness 
and  opacity  of  the  natural — or,  more  properly,  the  unnatu¬ 
ral  mind.  It  cannot  feel  from  within,  but  is  constantly 
drawn  outward  by  sight,  sound  and  contact.  It  is  the  “wide¬ 
awake”  mind.  Its  highest  faculty  is  the  invention  of 
machinery,  building  of  railways,  cities,  etc. — all  of  a  mate¬ 
rial  character.  But  it  is  progressive,  inasmuch  as  it  expands 


(32 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


by  its  stretch  after  the  new,  and  its  effort  to  perfect  that 
which  it  conceives. 

Conception  is  always  superior  to  the  production.  The 
true  artist  fails  to  come  up  to  his  ideal,  because  the  colors 
in  his  mind  are  pure,  while  the  colors  of  his  picture,  being 
a  compound  of  matter,  are  dead.  It  is  a  mere  material 
thing,  void  of  soul.  If  he  could,  by  looking  at  the  canvass, 
project  from  his  mind  the  picture  he  sees  in  his  mind,  pro¬ 
ject  the  colors  from  himself — without  brush,  paints  or 
pencils — on  the  canvas,  it  would  come  up  to  his  ideal.  This 
power  does  not  belong  to  the  natural  nor  to  the  rational, 
but  to  the  Divine  Mind. 

The  Divine  mind  does  not  exist  to  the  natural  mind, 
because  it  cannot  come  in  contact  therewith.  The  natural 
develops  into  the  rational,  which  expands  to  the  Divine. 
The  natural,  by  expansion,  opens  the  interiors,  through 
which  impressions  come  from  the  unknown.  If  these  im¬ 
pressions  are  not  rejected  the  mind  becomes  luminous.  This 
illumination  is  rationality.  Impressions  from  within  awaken 
the  mind  as  with  a  new  life,  and  it  gradually  turns  within — 
thus  reversing  itself.  This  is  the  beginning  of  magnetiza¬ 
tion,  which  is  a  turning  inward  of  the  eyes  and  the  sight — 
the  beginning  of  the  glory. 

The  natural  may  be  compared  to  the  flint,  and  objects  to 
the  steel.  The  fire  struck  out  is  a  mere  spark,  which  van¬ 
ishes  away  and  is  lost ;  but  the  rational  is  a  steady  flame, 
flowing  from  the  Divine,  making  malleable  and  luminous 
the  entire  man.  Seeds  deposited  in  the  earth  first  soften, 
then  enlarge,  before  the  germ  can  come  forth.  The  natural 
mind  is  the  seed  planted  in  the  soil  of  the  body,  but  the 
rational  is  the  tree  ;  the  fruitage  is  the  Divine ;  which, 
indeed,  grows  not  out  of  the  ground,  but  descends,  as  the 
Spirit,  to  bless  all  who  partake  thereof.  This  is  the  bread 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


03 


that  comes  down  from  Heaven,  of  which  if  a  man  eat  he 

shall  not  die. 

To  the  rational  belongs  the  innocency  of  childhood,  with 
its  simplicity  and  credulity.  Instead  of  sagacity  there  is 
intuition  ;  instead  of  deduction  there  are  visions  and  revela¬ 
tions.  One  might  naturally  think  that  rationality  came 
with  age ;  and  so  it  would,  if  there  was  no  retrogression. 
Our  daily  lives  cloud  the  surface  of  the  mind  with  a  film, 
through  which  the  flint  scarce  penetrates  ;  hence  there  is 
no  fire  evolved  by  the  friction  incident  to  this  life. 

We  become  insulated  during  the  mad  rush  for  wealth, 
and  the  magnetism  that  gives  growth  and  expansion  passes 
by  us.  The  real  age  and  life  of  a  man  dates  from  his  con¬ 
scious  progress  in  the  good  and  pure  The  real  death  dates 
from  the  time  one  becomes  conscious  of  being  bad,  and 
does  not  forsake  his  evil  ways.  There  are  some  children 
who  are  older  in  soul-growth  than  some  old  men  or  women. 
There  are  some  persons  who  retrograde  from  earliest  child¬ 
hood  ;  others  progress  for  some  years,  then  turn  down¬ 
wards  ;  others,  again,  are  bad  in  early  life,  then  suddenly, 
or  slowly,  turn  to  progress  upward.  We  may  pity  the  old 
person  who  is  hard.  Progress  softens  the  mind,  and  thus 
the  whole  man  expands. 

The  Divine  mind  is  first ;  next  is  the  rational ;  the  last 
and  outermost  is  the  natural.  The  natural  corresponds  to 
matter,  the  rational  to  spirit,  the  Divine  to  soul.  The  Divine 
mind  is  the  sensorium  of  the  soul,  which  surrounds  it  as  a 
translucent  film,  which  expands  and  contracts.  Attraction 
expands  it ;  repulsion  contracts  it  It  is  the  sensorium  that 
is  the  seat  of  consciousness  ;  the  events  of  life  are  all  pho¬ 
tographed  upon  it.  All  the  emotions  that  are  experienced 
give  color  to  it.  The  various  strains  of  music  and  discord 
leave  their  impression  on  it.  The  voiceless  universe  affects 
it  also.  What  we  have  been  in  previous  states  of  existence 


64 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


is  brought  forward  by  the  sensorium  into  this  life  ;  and  the 
sound  of  the  voice,  the  build  of  the  body,  the  facial 
expression,  the  laugh,  the  color  of  the  eyes — all  these,  and 
more,  tell  what  we  have  been  doing,  and  what  we  have 
been  in  the  long  eternities  of  the  past. 

Upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  sensorium  ideas  exist — 
in  the  “  Holy  of  Holies,”  wherein  God’s  voice  is  heard.  Upon 
its  outer  surface  symbols  of  those  ideas  are  projected, 
which,  descending  into  the  rational  according  to  its  condi¬ 
tion,  as  descends  the  ovarian  egg,  there  becomes  impreg¬ 
nated  by  the  nature  of  things.  The  nature  of  things  is  the 
spirit  of  things,  viz:  Fire.  The  spirit  dies  in  the  impreg¬ 
nation,  and  is  born  (after  gestation)  into  the  natural  mind 
reversed — i.  e.,  instead  of  being  spiritual  it  is  material.  It 
is  a  mere  reflection  of  the  Divine  mind ,  a  reversed  image, 
as  your  face  in  a  mirror.  For  this  reason  we  get  no  abso¬ 
lute  truth.  Ideas  are  reversed  and  distorted  from  havinp* 

o 

been  impregnated  by  the  spirit  of  ichat  has  been. 

In  the  same  manner  spirit  is  changed  into  matter,  and 
becomes  part  and  parcel  of  these  bodies.  For  instance, 
you  have  a  wound  ;  the  pain  is  a  telegram  to  the  sensorium 
of  the  soul  ;  the  idea  to  restore,  though  unconscious  to  you, 
is  immediately  projected  by  the  soul  into  the  sensorium,  or 
Divine  mind,  where  it  meets  spirit  and  is  impregnated,  and, 
descending,  deposits  life  in  the  form  of  new  matter  in  the 
wound.  Thus  are  the  injured  tissues  fed,  like  a  child  in 
embryo,  till  the  parts  are  restored.  But  there  is  a  decay  of 
the  injured  parts  before  and  during  restoration. 

How  tenderly  and  carefully  we  nurse  and  dress  an  ulcer, 
thus  causing  it  to  give  way  to  new  and  healthy  flesh.  Mat¬ 
ter  is  but  spirit  reversed.  Substance  is  substantial  ;  it  does 
not  change,  but  spirit  and  matter  do  change  in  becoming 
reversed.  The  decayed  matter  of  an  ulcer  is  the  return  to 
spirit,  and  matter  in  formation  is  spirit  condensing  :  which 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


65 


is  effected  by  that  third  and  incomprehensible  thing — the 
soul. 

These  material  bodies  are  but  an  ulcer,  so  to  speak,  upon 
a  Divine  and  substantial  body,  which  the  soul  is  striving  to 
free  therefrom.  But  in  most  of  us  this  Divine  part  is 
destroyed,  swallowed  up,  eaten  through  and  through  as  by 
ulceration.  The  substance  of  the  Divine  body  is  an  idea  of 
it.  Matter,  without  an  idea,  falls  or  lies  dormant ;  but  with 
an  idea  it  rises  up  and  walks  erect  as  man.  Aye  !  and  with 
an  idea  of  it  he  rises  up  to  be  a  god. 

Ideas  revolve  in  cycles  of  time  as  worlds  revolve  in  space. 
Hence,  “there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.”  We  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  Divine  in  childhood  and  in  first  love.  But 
the  fog  soon — alas  !  too  soon — rises  and  obscures  the  sun. 
In  the  reversal  of  ideas  the  external,  or  the  last,  appears  to 
be  first.  Causation  appears  on  the  surface  of  things,  and 
life  and  mind  seem  as  the  effect  of  matter. 

Religious  ideas  are  of  the  soul  ;  its  symbols — being  pro¬ 
jections  thereof — are  reversed  images  which  the  world  wor¬ 
ships.  The  esoteric  is  lost  in  the  rubbish  of  the  exoteric, 
as  the  soul  is  lost  in  matter.  But  it  flows  on  in  cycles,  vast 
in  extent,  and  gradually  works  out  of  the  rubbish,  and  asserts 
itself  as  miracle.  The  age  of  miracle  is  near  at  hand  !  The 
cycle  of  the  soul  is  nearly  completed  !  Already  we  can  see 
the  first  dim  twilight  of  the  rising  sun  ! 

From  the  worship  of  the  Divine— the  one,  the  first  math¬ 
ematical  number — wTe  have  gone  down  to  the  number  nine 
in  the  absurdity  of  addition,  and  now  in  that  constellation 
wre  worship  many  gods — our  forefathers.  But  the  absurd 
nine  will  pass  away,  and  the  next  cycle  will  be  the  union  of 
the  Immortal  1 — symbol  of  creation  and  the  beginning — 
■with  0  (10)  symbol  of  the  soul.  The  Father  and  the  Mother 
at  last  united,  the  Son  (the  Divine  mind)  will  appear  on  this 


G6 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  E0DY. 


earth.  Thus  we  revolve  in  a  numerical  circle  from  one  back 
to  one  again. 

The  idea  of  heredity  carries  us  back  to  our  forefathers, 
and  we  lay  the  blame  of  our  follies  upon  them  ;  but  they 
went  back  to  Adam  ;  Adam  laid  the  blame  on  the  devil  ; 
the  devil  lays  the  blame  on  God,  who  created  and  educated 
him  for  that  purpose.  Thus  in  thought  man  makes  God 
out  a  demon,  inferior  to  the  lowest  of  humanity  in  sympathy, 
and  superior  to  the  devil  in  cold  malignity.  What 
absurdity  ! 

Why  not  accept  what  we  know  as  the  truth  ?  We  know 
that  our  acts  make  and  unmake  us,  and  that  we  suffer  and 
enjoy  through  our  own  acts.  What  I  am,  my  acts  in  this 
life  and  other  stages  of  existence  have  made  me.  I  am  but 
an  action,  and  every  act  I  do,  adds  to,  or  diminishes  my 
power  to  create,  to  enjoy,  to  suffer,  and  to  be.  I  am  the 
numeral  one — the  first  and  the  last. 

When,  in  the  progress  of  life  the  soul  expands  to  the 
outermost  being,  and  becomes  the  over-soul  instead  of  the 
inner,  then  shall  the  Father  (Spirit)  be  one  with  the  Mother 
(soul),  and  the  Divine  mind  (the  Son  or  sun,  symbol  of 
Divine  light  and  knowledge,)  shall  illumine  the  night  of 
matter,  and  all  secrets  which  lurk  in  darkness  shall  stand 
out  in  their  naked  deformity. 

“  Then  shall  no  one  say  to  his  neighbor,  know  ye  the 
Lord,  for  all  shall  know  him,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest.” 
This  is  the  Trinity,  and  the  real  significance  of  the  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  Spirit,  the  Father,  God  ;  Soul,  the 
Mother,  Holy  Ghost  ;  Mind,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  Spirit 
or  of  God. 

The  union  of  spirit  and  soul  is  typified  by  marriage  ; 
creation  is  typified  by  children,  as  the  son  or  mind  begotten. 
As  an  idea  reversed  or  dwarfed  becomes  monstrous,  this 
idea  of  the  Trinity,  Divine  as  a  symbol,  has  been  rendered 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


67 


unnatural  by  the  loss  of  its  divine  intent,  and  doubly 
damned  by  the  enforcement  of  unnatural  statute  laws. 

The  natural  becomes  the  rational  by  development,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  the  rational.  Many  there  be  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  Divine.  To  me  Divinity  is  the  noblest 
and  best  part  of  humanity — a  beacon  light,  far  above  us, 
luring  us  upward  and  onward  to  real  manhood  and  G-od- 
hood.  All  rationality  is  negative,  but  naturalness  is  positive. 

The  spirit  flows  out  and  in.  As  it  flows  out  it  dissolves 
and  carries  away  effete  or  dead  matter  into  the  atmosphere, 
when  it  becomes  the  life  of  something  else  ;  this  is  a  posi¬ 
tive  current.  As  it  flows  in  it  brings  with  it  the  spirit  of 
other  things,  with  which  it  has  mingled  in  its  revolutions 
around  the  body  ;  for,  like  everything  in  motion,  it  revolves. 
In  this  mingling  the  spirit  becomes  negative,  and  returns 
to  the  body  ;  so  all  spirit  that  builds  up  the  waste  of  the 
body  is  negative. 

The  negative  is  feminine,  and  all  formation  takes  place 
therein.  Rationality  is  the  negative  mind.  All  art  and 
mechanism  is  due  to  rationality.  All  aggressive  acts  and 
destruction  is  due  to  the  positive  or  natural  mind  (as  I  have 
termed  it  in  this  chapter  for  the  sake  of  simplicity).  The 
Divine  mind  is  that  incomprehensible  and  out-of-the-way 
mind — that  third  thing ,  standing  guard  between  the  two, 
wherein  they  meet  and  become  one. 

Now,  this  meeting  of  the  spirit  with  matter,  and  its 
transformation  from  spirit  into  matter,  is  a  strange  and 
mysterious  thing.  The  spirit  itself  is  not  life,  but  it  con¬ 
tains  the  germ  which  comes  to  life  in  the  third  thing,  which 
contains  in  itself  the  power  of  generation.  Mind  is  the 
connecting  link  between  matter  and  spirit — hence  it  is  in 
the  mind  that  transformation  is  effected. 

This  mind  becomes  Divine  by  unfoldment,  which,  indeed, 
is  nothing  more  than  a  union  of  the  natural  with  the 


68 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


rational.  In  the  way  we  look  at  things  from  without,  the 
Divine  is  evolved,  but  in  reality  the  Divine  contains  the 
natural  in  itself,  and  is  first  in  the  order  of  creation.  There 
is  Divinity  in  all  things,  as  there  is  life  in  all. 

We  speak  of  the  mind  as  a  thing,  having  an  organ,  the 
brain,  and  a  location  therein,  but  we  know  of  no  such  thing. 
The  mind  may,  and  probably  does,  come  to  a  focus  in  the 
brain  as  a  great  centre  of  perception ;  but  I  have  good 
grounds  to  maintain  that  it  occupies  every  atom  of  the 
body — even  to  the  toe-nails  and  hair  ;  and  that  it  surrounds 
the  soul,  separating  the  spirit  from  it,  and  that  it  is  the 
great  laboratory  of  the  Infinite,  in  which  spirit  is  trans¬ 
formed,  and  matter  receives  its  quickening  power,  and  is 
transfigured,  transposed,  or  rendered  up  to  the  Infinite  as 
an  incorruptible  substance. 

Jesus  was  in  possession  of  the  Divine  mind.  It  was  not 
possible  for  Him  to  be  sick,  to  suffer  pain,  or  to  die,  save  as 
He  willed  it.  He  did  not  die,  only  in  appearance  ;  neither 
did  His  body  ascend,  only  in  appearance,  but  was  trans¬ 
posed.  This  transposition  is  a  vanishing  away  out  of  sight. 
Head  of  the  transposition  of  Philip,  in  Acts  viii,  39-40. 

Andrew  Potts,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  told  me — and  the  sama 
was  corroborated  by  several  truthful  men  who  witnessed  it — 
that  he  vanished  out  of  the  sight  of  his  friends  at  the 
depot,  when  they  were  about  to  take  the  cars  for  a  town 
six  miles  down  the  road,  and  that  when  the  cars  arrived  at 
that  station  he  was  already  there,  talking  with  a  friend  who 
was  waiting  for  the  train  to  escort  the  friends  to  his  house. 

Jesus’  life  and  death  was  to  show  mankind  that  he  was 
the  same  as  they,  and  to  show  them  the  possibilities  of 
human  nature.  A  teacher,  to  be  acceptable,  must  not  be 
too  far  removed  from  his  pupils.  Had  Jesus  manifested 
the  powers  of  a  God,  vanished  from  the  cross,  etc.,  He 
would  have  converted  the  Jewish  nation  in  a  day,  and  they 


DIVINE  MIND  AND  BODY. 


69 


would  have  worshipped  Him  as  God.  But  what  good  would 
that  have  done  ?  Lo !  the  world  has  been  worshipping  Gods 
for  countless  ages,  and  some  portion  has  been  worshipping 
J Esus  ever  since  His  crucifixion,  but  what  good  has  it  done  ? 

The  Doctrines  of  Jesus  are  sublime  in  their  truth  and 
simplicity — but  very  much,  of  the  most  value,  has  never 
been  penned.  It  has  been  urged  against  him  that  he  taught 
that  which,  if  practiced,  would  subvert  civilization.  On 
the  contrary,  it  would  redeem  mankind  from  barbarism  and 
idolatry,  and  make  men  civilized  in  place  of  semi-savage. 
“  Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do,  because  I  go  to  the 
Father.”  “  By  their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them.”  “  These 
signs  shall  folloiv  those  that  believe .”  Who  believes? 


CHAPTER  VII. 


GENERATION  OF  MIND. 


It  is  the  weakness  of  matter  which  compels  it  to  lie  dor¬ 
mant  and  still  in  one  place ;  this  it  is  which  causes  it  to  fall 
down  when  not  supported.  Gravitation  is  only  another  name 
for  weakness.  So  it  is  with  mind.  That  which  is  under  law  is 
weak,  and  the  more  materialistic  the  mind  is  the  weaker  it 
is,  and  the  more  bound  by  law. 

Mind  is  law,  but  the  thing  moved  and  governed  is 
matter.  To  fulfill  the  law,  then,  is  to  perfect  the  mind,  and 
the  matter  under  it;  for  law  makes  matter,  and  imparts 
every  quality  to  it — motion,  weight,  buoyancy,  etc. 

To  the  perfected  mind  all  mundane  things  are  under,  or 
inclosed  in  it,  as  a  large  circle  incloses  smaller  ones.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  perfecting  nature — it  is  already  perfect. 
Neither  can  an  imperfect  thing  generate  a  perfect  thing. 
The  imperfect  changes  by  rising  up  to,  and  receiving  the 
perfect  within  itself.  Thus  the  wise  man  works  through 
nature,  not  against  it;  and  mastering  its  modes,  methods, 
laws  and  minds,  transcends  them  all;  and  looking  back, 
becomes  a  spectator  rather  than  an  actor. 

This  is  the  fulfilment  of  law,  or  in  other  words,  the  being 
filled  full  of  mind.  For  as  we  ascend  in  the  scale  of 
power,  we  become  more  and  more  involved ,  or  enveloped  in 


GENEKATION  OF  MIND. 


71 


mind,  which,  penetrating  through  and  through,  illuminates 
the  spirit,  and  gives  buoyancy  and  fluidity,  or  malleability, 
to  the  matter  composing  the  body;  thus  connecting  it  with 
other  matter,  to  influence,  control,  mould  and  fashion  it  for 
use,  as  one  uses  his  hands. 

In  order  to  pass  from  one  nature,  or  mode  of  existence, 
into  another,  generation  and  birth  are  necessary.  This 
involves  a  sleep.  The  spirit  worlds  are  of  this  nature.  In 
order  to  go  beyond  them — to  the  realm  of  absolute  power, 
the  germs  of  the  mind  must  be  ripe.  W e  are  here  for  the 
purpose — some  of  us,  at  least — of  generating  mind;  not 
merely  to  spend  a  few  years  in  amassing  wealth,  or  in  toiling 
to  support  bodies. 

Those  in  whom  the  mind  is  not  half  generated  remain  in 
this  nature  to  try  it  over  and  over  again.  Unripe  germs 
will  not  grow.  To  pass  into  the  nature  or  “  Kingdom  of 
God”  a  regeneration  is  necessary,  because  it  is  an  incom¬ 
prehensible  nature  to  this  finite  mind  —hence  the  entire 
man  must  be  re-made.  The  body  is  of  no  account.  Mind 
is  that  which  determines.  Some  minds  are  of  no  account. 
Fate  determines. 

The  truly  generated  mind  may,  and  does,  regenerate  the 
man,  and  endow  him  or  her  with  supernatural  power  and 
immortal  life,  here  on  this  earth.  That  which  ensues  at 
the  death  of  the  body  is  simply  generation,  and  not  a  regen¬ 
eration;  for  in  the  regeneration  the  body  is  changed  in 
quality  consciously,  by  the  joining  to  it  of  the  Divine 
Mind.  There  is  no  sleep  or  trance  in  this;  it  is  effort;  not 
physical,  but  mental  effort,  in  the  destruction  of  things  that 
disturb  the  harmony. 

There  are  many  enemies  to  human  progress,  prominent 
among  which  are  the  following  of  a  downward  or  retro¬ 
gressive  series,  which  are  antagonized  by  an  upward  or 


72 


GENERATION  OF  MIND. 


progressive  series.  They  may  properly  be  termed  Pow¬ 
ers — one  of  Light,  the  other  of  Darkness. 


Powers  of  Light. 

1.  Revelation, 

2.  Joy. 

j  3.  Temperance. 
(  4.  Continence. 

\  5.  Justice. 

(  6.  Communion, 
j  7.  Truth. 

I  8.  Good. 

9.  Light. 

10.  Life. 


Powers  of  Darkness. 

1.  Ignorance. 

2.  Sorrow. 

3.  Intemperance. 

4.  Concupiscence. 

5.  Injustice. 

0.  Covetousness. 

7.  Deceit. 

8.  Envy. 

9.  Fraud. 

10.  Wrath. 

— Hermes. 


Revelation  may  be  known  by  its  imparting  a  great  satis¬ 
faction,  rest,  or  joy  to  man.  Joy  is  prolific,  since  it  is  the 
feminine  of  ideas.  As  Revelation  drives  away  ignorance,  so 
joy  drives  away  sorrow — or  prepares  the  mind  to  resist 
sorrow,  and  to  be  self-sustaining  in  its  completeness — to 
stand  calm  and  tranquil  amid  life’s  changing  scenes,  and  be 
content  and  happy  despite  adversity. 

Temperance  in  all  things  is  revealed  as  the  source  of 
health,  and  immediately  is  seized  upon  by  the  mind,  and 
when  it  has  grown  apace,  Continence ,  the  feminine  of  it,  is 
evolved.  And  they  two  drive  away  Intemperance  and 
Concupiscence. 

When  this  is  accomplished  the  mind  is  as  clear  as  a  pol¬ 
ished  mirror.  The  turbid  waters  of  selfishness  and  lust 
have  subsided,  and  Justice ,  stripped  of  vindictiveness, 
stands  revealed  as  mercy,  and  becomes  the  ruling  power 
of  the  mind  Then  comes  Communion ,  the  feminine  of 
Justice ,  and  Injustice  and  Covetousness  flee  away.  There 
is  now  no  feeling  of  “mine  and  thine”  left  in  the  mind. 
All  things  are  pure  and  all  things  are  common.  The  com¬ 
munion  of  the  sexes,  of  races,  of  spirits ,  angels  and  Gods , 


GENERATION  OF  MIND. 


73 


is  effected,  and  tlie  mind  trembles  with  its  fullness  upon  the 
confines  of  absolute  truth  or  oneness  of  being. 

The  soul  has  now  ascended  to  the  seventh  sphere,  and  is 
pregnant  with  male  and  female  twins — “the  Truth  of  Good , 
and  the  Good  of  Truth”  which  in  due  time  are  born  into 
the  conscious  mind,  whereupon  deceit  and  envy  take  their 
departure.  In  the  light  of  truth  all  distinctions  and  differ¬ 
ences  disappear,  and  all  things  are  good. 

But  this  light  reveals  another  light— dimly  seen  at  first — 
far  away  upon  the  backgrounds  of  the  soul,  fitful  and 
fleeting,  obscured  by  passing  shadows,  it  grows  brighter 
and  comes  nearer — an  immortal  light  in  the  centre  of  which 
is  the  germ  of  another  life — of  an  immortal  substance 
called  “the  Tree  of  Life.”  It  slowly  enters  into  the  mind, 
and  descending  from  thence  enters  into  and  transforms  the 
changeable  matter  into  a  substance  at  once  homogeneous 
and  not  particled.  The  man  is  no  longer  in  light  and  in 
life,  but  light  and  life  are  in  him. 

The  Infinite  is  no  longer  without  and  far  away,  but  it  is 
within  ;  not  divided  and  separated  from,  but  the  integral 
part  of  all  being,  tangible,  visible  and  intelligible.  The 
impossible  does  not  belong  to  this  life,  and  flees  away  upon 
its  approach,  or  is  not. 

The  darkness  and  ignorance  which  form  the  background 
of  the  soul,  in  which  we  are  hidden  from  ourselves,  has 
been  withdrawn,  and  we  are  revealed  as  the  Over -soul  itself, 
containing  all  life  and  forms  within.  We  are  no  longer 
involved  in  law  or  mind,  for  we  contain  all  of  these,  and 
are  conscious  thereof.  And  we  use  them  as  we  now  do  our 
hands  and  feet. 

Man  is  master  of  all  his  soul  embraces.  This  is  the  proper 
generation  of  mind,  wherein  the  body  and  spirit  are  regen¬ 
erated.  To  such,  death  is  not,  for  death  is  a  weakness. 
The  intuitions  of  a  ripened  mind  are  as  broad  and  deep  as 


GENERATION  OF  MIND. 


74 

tlie  universe,  but  those  of  a  small  or  an  unripe  mind  are 
weak  and  shallow. 

Hence  the  necessity  of  mutual  culture — not  in  the  acqui¬ 
sition  of  earthly  knowledge,  but  in  the  effort  to  grasp 
creative  power — philosophy,  astronomy,  etc.,  in  their  broad¬ 
est  and  deepest  aspects.  Philosophy  is  the  highest  of  all 
studies.  It  wings  the  soul. 

Truth  is  so  little  known  that  it  is  folly  to  waste  words  in 
argument ;  but  speculate,  think,  entertain  and  master  all 
ideas  thereto  ;  imagine,  grasp  at  the  Infinite  Mind,  and 
bring  it  into  yourself,  for  in  the  effort  the  mind  expands, 
stretches  out  and  grows.  What  if  you  accept  an  error  to¬ 
day  ?  You  can  change  your  opinion  to-morrow  !  Above  all 
things  beware  of  fossilization. 

Had  Jesus  healed  the  whole  world  in  a  day,  it  would 
have  been  sick  again  in  a  few  weeks,  if  not  days.  He  did 
not  teach  worship,  but  manhood ,  as  a  Divine  thing.  He 
taught  salvation  as  flowing  from  works ,  and  not  from  his 
merits  or  blood,  or  from  the  worship  of  him,  or  anything 
else  but  principle.  He  taught  the  influence  and  value  of 
belief  ;  and  also  of  several  kinds  of  baptism — of  water,  of 
fire,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  also  of  a  baptism  which 
he  should  undergo  at  his  death. 

We  are  left  to  conjecture  what  baptism  he  meant  when 
he  said,  “He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,” 
etc.  (See  Mark  xvi,  16,  17,  IS.)  But  we  are  not  left  in 
doubt  in  regard  to  its  being  the  baptism  with  water,  for  the 
Christian  world  has  been  “sprinkled,”  “poured,”  and 
“plunged”  in  water  for  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-two 
years  ;  and  ichere  are  the  “signs”  he  said  should  follow  as 
an  evidence  of  salvation  ? 

He  said  he  was  the  bread  of  life  ;  to  eat  thereof  was  to 
be  immortal.  Now,  the  truth  is,  he  was  teaching  the  same 
thing  I  am  trying  to  illustrate,  and  his  ignorant  apostles,  or 


JENERATION  OF  MIND. 


nr. 

»  0 

some  one  else,  have  got  it  mixed  up  and  distorted,  in  order 
to  deify  him.  He  said  the  bread  of  life  came  from  heaven  ; 
and  also  that  “the  Kingdom  of  God  is  within  yon.”  He 
also  spoke  of  another  birth,  and  of  sight ,  as  a  result  of  that 
birth.  Baptism  with  water  is  a  symbol  of  purification  in 
order  to  the  reception  of  another  Baptism,  viz,  that  of  fire. 
The  Baptism  with  water  is  typical  of  the  softening  and  the 
making  tender  (as  a  seed)  the  natural  mind,  so  that  it  may 
expand  or  revolve  in  its  growth  towards  rationality.  The 
softened,  tender,  sympathetic,  opening  mind,  inhales  the 
fragrance  of  another  life,  and  it  buds,  blossoms  and  bears 
fruits  which  are  a  blessing  to  all.  Its  blossoms  are  a  sight 
of  the  kingdom  of  God ,  and  its  fruit  is  the  entering  into  the 
spirit  of  all  truth,  and  the  birth  of  a  Divine  Body, 
indestructible  and  eternal. 

Bathing  assists  the  will  in  the  healing  of  the  body,  and 
in  the  subduing  of  the  heat  of  passion.  Water  opens  the 
pores  of  the  body — belief  opens  the  mind  ;  the  first  for  the 
reception  of  magnetism  (spirit),  the  latter  for  the  reception 
of  ideas,  which  are,  indeed,  of  the  soul  (Holy  Ghost). 

This  is  the  building  up  of  a  divine  body  of  a  supernatu¬ 
ral  substance,  from  the  atmosphere  of  a  thought- world.  We 
need  not  die,  if  we  only  know  how  to  live.  But  what  can 
we  say  of  a  world  of  men  who  think  of  nothing  but  vanity, 
and  for  the  serious  part  of  life  hire  the  thinking  of  it  done  ? 
The  thoughts  doled  out  from  millions  of  pulpit- grinders 
every  seventh-day  are  but  the  effluvia  of  the  past,  the 
exhalations  of  the  dead.  What  kind  of  substance  do  they 
furnish  for  a  dying  world?  Is  this  the  “bread  of  life?”  Is 
there  a  spark  of  original  fire  in  it  ? 

He  who  depends  upon  books  for  his  inspiration  is  but  an 
exhumer  of  the  dead.  The  heavens  are  as  open  to-day  as 
when  Isaiah,  gazing  aloft,  said,  “  Lo,  I  am  God  !  and  I 
change  not;  therefore,  ye  sons  of  Jacob,  are  ye  not 


76 


GENERATION  OE  MIND. 


devoured.”  The  same  power  is  waiting  for  us  to  reach  up 
and  take  that  existed  in  the  olden  time  for  him  they  nailed 
upon  the  cross.  The  tables  of  the  Infinite  are  spread  and 
loaded,  but  no  one  will  be  compelled  to  partake.  Help 
yourselves,  is  the  universal  law. 

At  the  tomb  of  Lazarus,  in  view  of  a  body  lying  stark 
and  dead,  with  the  smell  of  death,  and  the  mould  of  the 
grave  on  his  pallid  lips,  with  eyes  that  gazed  the  Infinite 
out  of  countenance  with  their  unflinching  audacity,  He  of 
the  magic  Will  said,  “If  a  man  believe  in  me  he  shall  not 
die.”  Did  he  mean  physical  death?  Most  assuredly  he  did. 
Take  this  as  corroborative  :  in  speaking  to  the  Jews  at  an¬ 
other  time  he  said,  “  Your  fathers  did  eat  manna  in  the 
wilderness,  and  are  dead ;  but  I  am  the  bread  of  life  which 
came  down  from  heaven,  of  which,  if  a  man  eat,  he  shall 
not  die,” — meaning  the  same  death  the  fathers  died  in  the 
wilderness,  viz:  physical  death.  And  yet,  in  the  face  of 
these  positive  declarations  of  the  Inspired  One ,  the  pulpit 
organs  grind  out  a  spiritual  explanation.  They  make  J esus5 
work  apply  to  a  future  state,  when  he  intended  it  wholly 
for  this  life. 

The  Hermetic  Philosophers,  the  Alchemists,  and  the 
Bosicrucians,  have  all  believed  in  and  taught  the  doctrine 
of  eternal  youth,  and  sought  for  the  “philosopher’s  stone,” 
and  the  “elixir  of  life  ;”  and  Jesus  taught  that  life  was 
within  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  which  “  is  within  you  ;  ” 
and  laid  the  foundation-stone,  Belief. 

The  fakirs  of  India  cause  a  shrub  to  grow  out  of  the 
ground,  blossom,  bear  its  fruit,  and  ripen  it,  all  in  one  short 
hour.  And  it  is  no  phantom  fruit,  for  it  is  passed  around 
and  divided  among:  the  bystanders,  who  eat  thereof.  Scores 
of  travelers  have  witnessed  this  feat,  and  many  have  written 
of  it,  but  my  authority  is  a  gentleman  of  veracity  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  India.  It  is  done  under  circumstances 


GENERATION  CF  MIND. 


77 


which  utterly  preclude  the  idea  of  jugglery  or  trick  of  any 
kind.  They  know  and  say  it  is  the  power  of  the  will  that 
does  it.  But  there  is  no  growth  to  their  power.  Why  ? 
Because  they  have  no  higher  ideas  of  human  powers  than 
the  manipulation  and  production  of  things.  They  are  not 
a  progressive  people.  They  are  at  their  highest  point.  It 
remains  for  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  to  go  higher  ;  for  it  is  a 
higher  race. 

Jesus  said,  “Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do,  because 
I  go  to  the  Father.’5  And  it  would  have  proved  true  had 
they  made  the  conditions.  It  remains  for  us  to  make  the 
conditions,  which  are,  to  work  for  that  baptism  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire,  viz:  the  union  of  spirit  and  soul. 
Water  makes  the  body  soft,  tender  and  pure.  Baptism  is 
to  be  submerged,  swallowed  up  in  the  spirit,  which  is  the 
beginning  of  a  new  life  with  wondrous  powers,  generative 
of  new  matter — a  divine  essence,  superior  to  death  and  dis¬ 
solution,  which  in  appearance  resembles  this  body,  but 
which,  in  fact,  is  not  mortal. 

It  was  this  body  which  Jesus,  Moses,  Elijah,  Philip, 
Enoch  and  several  Kosicrucians  of  the  olden  time  are 
reputed  to  have  had.  This  was  why  Jesus  said,  “I  will  lay 
my  life  down  ;  you  cannot  take  it”  This  Divine  body  may 
die,  if  corrupted  by  the  desire  to  die.  Thus  St.  John  could 
live,  notwithstanding  he  was  plunged  into  a  cauldron  of 
boiling  oil,  till  he  desired  to  die.  The  Divine  body  is  not  a 
spiritual  body,  hence  it  is  no  apparition,  or  materialized 
form  dependent  upon  a  medium  and  conditions.  It  is 
totally  subject  to  the  will,  and  as  it  is  projected  from  the 
mind,  it  may  be  drawn  back  into  the  mind  again,  and  thus 
disappear.  Or  it  may  change  and  become  some  other  form. 
This  was  why  the  Disciples  failed  to  recognize  Jesus  on  the 
way  to  Emmaus.  “He  appeared  to  them  in  another  form,” 
says  Mark.  But  when  he  had  blessed  the  bread  and  broke 


78 


GENERATION  OF  MIND. 


it,  he  was  himself  again,  they  recognized  him,  and  then  he 
disappeared. 

At  another  time  he  stood  in  their  midst,  and  as  they 
doubted,  he  said,  “Feel  my  flesh  and  bones,  for  ye  know  a 
spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones.”  The  doctrine  of  the 
metempsychosis  of  the  soul  is  as  true  as  it  is  old.  All 
things  are  in  the  divine  mind,  and  are  projections  thereof 
by  Divine  Will  and  Love.  Hence,  man,  when  he  rises  to 
the  Divine,  has  the  same  powers,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned, 
as  an  individual.  Thus,  he  may  clothe  the  naked,  feed  the 
hungry,  heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  walk  upon  the  water, 
still  the  tempest,  or  visit  the  GrOD-worlds  at  wrill. 

When  that  good  time  comes  wTe  will  not  need  to  take 
thought  for  to-morrow.  Then  we  can  “  give  to  every  one 
that  asks,”  and  “he  that  would  borrow”  wTe  need  not  “turn 
away.”  Then  “whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  shall  be  granted,” 
not  because  ye  ask  in  anybody’s  name,  but  because  then  we 
may  say  with  Jesus,  “  I  and  my  Father  are  one.”  Then 
there  shall  be  no  high  and  no  lowT,  but  as  brothers  we  shall 
dwell  together,  and  the  nations  shall  learn  war  no  more. 
Then  shall  “the  lamb  and  the  lion  lie  down  together,”  and 
“  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters 
cover  the  great  deep.”  Then  good-bye  to  mammon  and  to 
a  civilization  whose  glory  is  “an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth 
for  a  tooth,” — “  whoso  sheddeth  man’s  blood,  by  man  shall 
his  blood  be  shed.” 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ATTRIBUTES  OE  MIND. 


That  which  can  be  ascribed  to  the  mind  is  an  attribute 
thereof.  We  have  to  do  now  only  with  a  few.  In  my  view, 
all  things  mundane  may  be  attributed  to  mind,  but  distinct¬ 
ions  are  necessary  to  illustration.  All  attributes  of  the  mind 
are  dual — “Male  and  female  created  he  them.”  They 
antagonize  each  other;  one  leads  upward,  the  other  down¬ 
ward — or  inward  and  outward. 

All  development  is  in  expansive  curves,  from  one  to 
many;  then  in  contractive  curves,  back  to  one  again,  of  a 
higher  or  lower  order.  Nothing  moves  in  direct  lines.  The 
expansion  of  the  soul  is  her  effort  to  gather  power;  her 
contraction  is  her  effort  to  use  that  power.  This  is  focaliza- 
tion.  All  power,  to  be  of  use,  must  be  focalized. 

Intellect  is  the  eye  of  the  soul,  which  must  be  focalized 
in  order  to  attain  clear  sight.  The  rays  of  the  sun  in 
diffusion  gently  warm,  and  bring  out  many  hidden  forms 
from  the  earth;  but  in  concentration,  fire  is  evolved,  which 
consumes  or  obliterates  these  same  forms  of  matter  which 
were  evolved  by  its  gentle  rays.  Even  the  granite  moun 
tain  would  vanish  away  as  a  vapor,  if  the  light  of  the  sun 
was  all  turned  upon  it.  Yea,  more!  even  the  solid,  beau¬ 
tiful  earth  would  evaporate  into  the  imperceptible — not 
even  into  blue  sky — if  the  sun’s  forces  were  all  turned 
upon  it. 

Focalization  is  the  destruction  of  the  old,  and  the  birth 
of  the  new.  Intellect  corresponds  to  the  sun,  not  only  in 


80 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


form,  but  in  power.  It  is  to  mind  what  the  sun  is  to  the 
earth.  Its  darkness  is  ignorance,  its  light  is  the  birth  and 
life  of  many  things.  The  diffusion  of  its  light  causes  the 
mind  to  radiate  into  many  channels,  or  attributes,  in  the 
growth  of  which  the  soul  is  expanded. 

But  soul  is  not  satisfied  with  this;  and  when  it  is  dis¬ 
satisfied  it  begins  to  contract  itself  for  another  and  a 
mightier  effort;  it  turns  all  its  power  upon  one  point  of  the 
darkness,  which,  like  an  opaque  night,  surrounds  it,  and 
pierces  through — as  a  burning  of  it  into  another  life,  or 
another  method  of  this  one.  This  is  the  begetting  of  another 
intellect  (intuition)  from  this  old  one,  which  has  been  con¬ 
sumed,  or  left  behind  as  a  charred  and  blackened  ruin. 

The  door  of  intuition  once  opened,  there  is  no  more  use 
for  observation,  memory,  thought  or  reason;  its  light  pene¬ 
trates  the  depths  of  all  mystery;  language  becomes  auto¬ 
matic;  and,  without  thought  or  effort,  ideas  flow  in  as  the 
waters  of  a  mighty  river;  all  reasonable  needs  are  supplied 
as  if  by  magic.  To  such,  if  any  there  be,  I  can  say,  with 
Jesus,  “  Take  no  thought  of  what  ye  shall  say,  neither  take 
heed  for  to-morrow/1 

Man,  considered  as  a  whole,  is  the  focus  of  all  forces 
beneath  and  above  him.  The  essential  qualities  of  all 
animation  are  in  him,  and  find  their  focal  point  in  the 
mind;  hence  the  mind  is  composed  of  instincts,  disunited 
or  at  war  wTith  each  other,  the  harmonious  union  of  which 
is  the  beginning  of  a  new  order  or  genus.  Intuition  is 
instinct  humanized. 

It  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  mind  suffers.  Intellect  simply 
knows  or  investigates — it  does  not  feel.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  mental  suffering.  The  soul  is  sense  and  hence  it 
feels — it  is  simply  a  power  and  being  limited,  confined, 
imprisoned — and  sensing  its  condition  exerts  its  powder  to 
escape.  To  provide  for  its  comfort  and  protect  itself  it 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


81 


created  the  animal  propensities — these  are  the  lower  or 
blind  attributes  of  mind.  The  social,  are  of  a  little  higher 
order — then  come  the  poetical,  inventive  and  imaginative — 
next  intellect,  or  an  attempt  to  see  into  the  true  relationship 
and  adaptation  of  things  and  the  laws  governing.  But 
soul  soon  wearied  of  this  outward  panorama  or  “  side  show” 
of  existence,  and  turned  the  intellect  within  upon  itself. 
This  is  focalization.  All  the  attributes  of  the  mind  were 
concentrated  or  united  into  one  grand  power  higher  and 
superior  to  intellect,  viz,  Prescience.  •  The  soul  is  of  “  The 
Father” — and  when  its  intellectual  powers  have  attained 
the  highest  perfection,  the  soul  not  satisfied  with  anything 
less  than  its  pre-  incarnate  state,  becomes  exalted  over  its 
past  successes  and  creates  a  new  class  of  attributes  out  of 
the  union  of  all  of  a  lower  nature.  Thus  were  the  moral 
attributes  created — love,  justice,  devotion,  hope,  etc.,  etc. 

Thus  have  grown  the  attributes,  from  the  exercise  of 
which,  all  the  various  religions  of  the  world  have  originated. 
Thus,  by  turning  within  and  studying  one’s  own  nature 
does  man  become  truly  great  and  GoD-like.  This  is  con¬ 
centration.  The  soul  suffers  and  enjoys. 

We  scarcely  know  what  intuition  is.  There  is  plenty  of 
sagacity  and  instinct  in  the  world,  but  very  little  intuition. 

To  it  belong  all  the  spiritual  gifts  we  know  of.  Intuition 
is  the  seed  of  the  tree  of  life.  All  seeds  attract  heat,  moist¬ 
ure,  etc.,  before  they  can  project  the  shrub  or  tree;  hence, 
the  first  law  of  intuition  is  attraction,  which  is  the  feminine, 
or  the  law  of  all  mediumship.  All  inspiration,  prophecy, 
healing,  clairvoyance,  clairaudience,  psychometry,  and  all 
other  spiritual  manifestations,  come  by  attraction. 

I  am  aware  it  is  a  physical  condition;  but  the  body  is 
affected  by  our  mental  states  as  a  thermometer  is  affected 
by  heat  and  cold.  Attraction  depends  upon  attention.  As 
a  tender  mother  nurses  and  cares  for  her  only  child  by 


82 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


unwearied  watchfulness  and  attention,  so  are  the  gifts  of 
the  Spirit  obtained  and  perfected.  Intuition  is  the  seed  of 
the  tree  of  life,  and  the  various  attributes  of  the  mind  which 
lead  to  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  its  trunk  and  branches. 

The  loftiest  mind  has  not  yet  fathomed  the  depth  and 
height,  and  multiplicity  of  spiritual  gifts.  They  are  all 
attributes  of  the  mind,  which,  ascending  spirally  in  cycles 
from  the  natural  to  the  rational,  at  last  bask  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Divine  mind.  It  is  all  within,  waiting  the  baptism 
of  fire,  which  comes  by  action.  “Dead  here,  slumbering 
there,  latent  in  all  save  a  few,”  we  look  upon  it  as  miracu¬ 
lous;  as  a  manifestation  especially  ordered  by  Deity  for  a 
favored  few. 

Mediums  arrive  at  a  certain  stage  of  development,  and 
there  stop;  then  wonder  why  the  gifts  gradually  die.  (See 
chapter  on  Mediumship).  The  mind  is  a  trinity  in  unity; 
that  is,  it  is  animal,  mental  and  moral.  The  external  mind 
corresponds  to  physical  nature,  and  is  called  the  animal; 
the  intellect  corresponds  to  fire — the  spirit;  the  moral 
corresponds  to  the  soul. 

There  are  seven  attributes  of  the  mind,  each  imparting  a 
certain  quality  peculiar  to  itself.  They  have  their  antago¬ 
nists,  as  follows  : 

Experience,  I. 

II.  Belief  /\  Unbelief,  II. 

III.  Hope  /  \  Fear,  III. 

IY.  Knowledge  /  \  Ignorance,  IY. 

Y.  Trust.  /  \  Distrust,  Y. 

YI.  Love.  /  \  Jealousy,  YI. 

YXI.  Will.  /  \  Reverence,  YII. 

To  the  mind  belongs  quantity  and  quality.  Quantity 
gives  momentum,  but  quality  gives  elasticity  and  buoyancy. 
The  attributes  of  the  mind  each  has  its  antagonist,  as  shown 
in  the  above  diagram.  They  both  grow  out  of  experience, 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


83 


but  they  are  as  opposite  as  day  and  night  in  the  influence 
they  exert  upon  us.  Each  exists  by  opposing  the  influence 
of  its  opposite ;  the  life  of  one  is  the  disease  and  death  of 
the  other.  There  is  not  life  enough  in  the  mind  to  feed 
them  both  to  fullness,  so  they  strive  with  each  other  for  the 
“  lion’s  share.” 

The  fundamental  principle  of  this  life  is  experience.  To 
it  belong  observation,  memory,  thought  and  investigation. 
We  all  begin  and  end  with  experience;  if  we  try,  we  can 
not  escape  it;  we  must  experience  something.  The  exper¬ 
iences  of  some,  however,  are  as  trivial  as  that  of  a  root 
which  grows  in  the  ground;  according  to  the  experience,  so 
is  the  growth. 

W e  revolve  in  circles  in  our  growth.  Every  experience  is 
a  circle — a  triangular  circle,  of  which  belief,  hope  and 
knowledge  are  the  angles.  Knowledge  is  the  ultimate  of 
every  act,  of  every  experience,  and  is  two -fold  in  its  effects, 
viz:  good  or  bad.  It  either  adds  to  or  diminishes,  human 
happiness.  The  nature  of  the  knowledge  gives  its  effect, 
i.  e.,  it  imparts  a  certain  quality  to  the  mind  conducive  to 
happiness  or  misery.  That  which  imparts  rest,  peace  and 
tranquility,  is  conducive  to  health  and  happiness;  but  that 
which  causes  dissatisfaction,  unrest  and  agitation,  conduces 
to  disease  and  unhappiness. 

BELIEF  AND  HOPE. 

The  great  fundamental  principle  of  Christianity  is  “  Be¬ 
lieve,  or  you  will  be  damned.”  This  presupposes  that  man 
has  power  to  believe  as  he  likes.  This  is  undoubtedly  a 
truth  as  regards  some  men,  while  there  are  others  who  are 
controlled  entirely  by  evidence,  or,  at  least,  by  what  appears 
as  evidence  to  them. 

To  convince  a  man  of  a  truth,  it  must  appear  to  him  as  a 


84 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


psychological  power.  It  must  appear  so  fascinating  as  to 
carry  his  will  captive  through  his  love  ;  then  the  evidence 
supporting  it  will  appear  very  plain  and  logical.  When  the 
antagonist  of  belief  overbalances  belief,  i.  e.,  when  persons 
are  of  a  skeptical,  doubtful,  incredulous  turn  of  mind,  they 
are,  as  a  general  thing,  not  easily  influenced  ;  they  are  in¬ 
flexible,  and  become  fixed  in  opinions  to  which  they  become 
devoted. 

This  devotion  is  the  same  out  of  the  church  as  in.  It 
closes  the  mind  upon  all  sides,  save  the  one  through  which 
they  look.  They  become  bigoted  in  their  one  idea,  which  is 
a  creed  they  are  bound  to  sustain.  Unbelief  is  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  strife.  It  is  a  contradiction,  and  strife  is  sickening. 
The  unnatural  man  fights  for  his  opinions  and  against  the 
opinions  of  others  ;  but  the  natural  man  loves  repose,  and 
is  indifferent  to  opinions  of  others. 

Strife  is  of  hell,  and  perhaps  it  is  good  for  the  unnatural 
but  there  is  no  health  or  life  therein.  Now,  unbelief,  being 
a  negation  or  contradiction,  it  has  within  itself  the  spirit  of 
agitation,  which  sets  in  motion  discordant  mental  elements, 
antagonizing  belief,  which  is  of  the  soul — of  intuition — the 
condition  of  childhood.  The  spirit  of  belief  is  that  of  child¬ 
ish  innocence  and  credulity — of  trust,  hope  and  confidence. 
Hence  it  is  peaceful  and  restful  to  the  soul — so  expansive. 

He  who  does  not  believe  in  immortality  fails  to  do  so  be¬ 
cause  he  feels  not  the  pulsating  heart  of  God  within  him¬ 
self.  Let  him  who  believes  keep  silent  till  he  knows  the 
truth  and  can  demonstrate  it,  if  he  desires  good  results  to 
himself.  I  do  not  believe  in  strife,  but  let  those  who  do, 
join  battle. 

That  a  man  cannot  believe  except  from  evidence,  is  true; 
but  one  man  receives  evidence  from  without,  while  another 
feels  it  ivithin.  We  cannot  accept  a  thing  as  truth  except 
it  be  in  harmony  with  our  inmost  feelings.  He  who  really 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


85 


believes  in  God  believes  in  bis  own  power  to  become  God¬ 
like  ;  but  be  wbo  believes  in  tbe  devil  knows  of  him,  for  be 
feels  him  within. 

We  all  instinctively  believe  in  tbat  wbicb  we  love.  We 
believe  in  tbat  wbicb  harmonizes  witb  ns.  Mental  assent  is 
no  belief  ;  it  may  be  forced  out  by  fear,  or  love  of  appear¬ 
ance,  or  popularity,  or  gain,  but  tbe  real  belief  is  wbat  we 
live.  In  view  of  tbis,  Paul  says,  “As  a  man  tbinketb,  so  is 
be.”  Belief  is  tbe  fundamental  principle  of  soul-growtb. 
Tbe  credulous  man  stands  bigber  spiritually  tban  tbe  in¬ 
credulous.  Wby  ?  Because  all  growth  and  real  power 
depends  upon  tbe  absorption  of  Divine  fire,  and  belief  opens 
tbe  pores. 

All  magnetizers  are  aware  tbat  belief  and  fear  cause 
receptiveness.  Fear  is  based  upon  belief.  Tbo  belief  in 
tbe  “  harmful  Gods  ”  has  diseased  mankind  through  tbe 
cold,  malarial  influence  of  fear.  We  do  not  fear  tbat  wbicb 
we  know  ;  it  is  tbe  unknown  we  dread.  True  belief  also 
gives  hope,  and  hope  casts  out  fear  and  imparts  cheerful¬ 
ness.  Belief  in  tbat  wbicb  we  fear  is  not  a  belief,  but  an 
apprehension  tbat  tbe  thing  threatened,  though  unknown, 
may  be  true.  Tbis  apprehension  or  fear  creates  a  trembling 
and  quaking  as  of  an  ague.  It  is  disease. 

He  wbo  believes  in  himself  reposes  in  himself,  and 
achieves  success  ;  but  be  wbo  doubts  himself  is  afraid  of 
bis  shadow,  and  achieves  nothing.  Achievement  is  tbe 
acquirement  of  knowledge — as  riches.  But  be  wbo  achieves 
nothing,  knows  nothing,  and  is  poor  ;  hence  be  is  dissatisfied 
witb  himself  and  others.  He  wbo  knows  least  of  himself 
trusts  himself  tbe  least,  and  is  afraid  and  doubtful.  As  of 
himself,  so  of  others.  We  judge  others  by  ourselves. 

He  wbo  lias  tbe  most  trust  and  confidence  in  others  has 
tbe  best  and  highest  knowledge — first  of  himself,  secondly 
of  others.  He  wbo  knows  tbe  most  of  money  knows  tbe 


80 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


least  of  mankind.  He  trusts  money,  but  not  manhood,  for 
his  knowledge  leads  him  to  distrust  mankind.  Knowledge 
gives  confidence  or  destroys  it.  Woe  be  to  him  whose 
knowledge  diminishes  his  trust.  Remove  the  little  confi¬ 
dence  we  have  in  each  other,  and  all  friendship  and  socia¬ 
bility  would  cease.  Nations  and  governments  could  not 
exist,  and  progress  would  be  at  an  end.  Confidence  is  the 
diviner  part  of  us.  It  is  the  child-nature — that  which  is 
“  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.” 

oe  to  him  who  has  little  or  no  confidence  in  mankind, 
for  he  has  none  in  God.  Sleep  is  sweet  to  the  trustful  soul, 
for  God  dwells  within,  and  bars  the  door  of  darkness 
through  which  devils  creep  when  we  are  off  our  guard.  I  have 
heard  men  boast  of  their  doubts,  of  their  unbelief  and  in- 
credulity.  But  to  me  it  is  an  evidence  of  smallness  of 
mind.  Religion  has  become  the  laugh  and  grimace  of  the 
world,  by  reason  of  the  want  of  comprehension  of  its  votar¬ 
ies,  and  of  the  unbelievers. 

He  who  worships  symbols  is  an  idolater,  and  rightlypro- 
vokes  the  mirth  of  others  ;  but  there  is  something  sublime 
in  principles  which  always  commands  respect.  The  under- 
lying  principle  of  all  religion  is  the  same,  and  is  as  old  as 
humanity.  True,  out  of  this  principle — this  fire-faith  of  the 
olden  time — have  grown  up  dwarfed  and  hideous  forms  of 
religion,  at  war  one  with  the  other,  as  man  wars  with  man, 
or  nation  against  nation.  But  the  principle  is  still  Divine, 
and  universally,  breathes  of  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and 
the  Fatherhood  of  God. 

A\  ho  is  there  who,  in  contemplating  the  wonders  of  crea¬ 
tion,  has  not  felt  the  leaping  of  flame  thoughts,  as  if  in 
rapture — the  kindling  of  a  divine  fire  within  that  leaped 
and  glowed  with  a  fervent  heat,  melting  our  hardness  of 
nature,  our  skepticism  and  unbelief  in  the  wisdom  of  cre¬ 
ative  genius  ?  Ah !  who  has  not  gone  hence  from  this  closet 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


87 


of  worship  feeling  like  a  coward,  humbled  and  Weak  as  the 
publican  and  sinner  who  smote  upon  his  breast,  and  cried, 
“Father,  forgive  me,  a  sinner  !  ”  I  repeat,  it  is  the  small- 
minded,  weak  man,  who  quenches  the  fires  of  his  own  soul 
by  his  doubt  and  skepticism. 

To  gaze  aloft  at  the  stars  and  rear  not  out  of  your  own 
soul  a  spiritual  temple  of  principles  for  the  guidance  of 
life’s  actions — for  the  use  of  mankind— and  instead,  only 
spend  our  time  in  tearing  down  the  house  wherein  our 
neighbor  worships,  is  unworthy  of  manhood.  Power  is  that 
which  builds  anew — not  that  which  destroys.  It  takes 
genius  to  build  an  edifice,  but  a  rat  might  undermine  and 
topple  it  to  the  ground.  Doubt,  skepticism  and  unbelief  are 
so  many  walls  surrounding  us,  isolating  and  insulating  us 
from  each  other,  and  keeping  us  far  from  the  realms  of 
power. 

In  proportion  as  we  know  a  person  to  be  truthful  do  we 
trust  ;  the  love  for  truth  is  natural;  and  it  is  our  nature 
to  believe  in  truth;  and  whenever  we  find  it,  we  trust  it, 
and  hope  for  its  increase  and  perpetuity;  and  when  we 
know  of  it  we  love  it,  and  will  its  spirit  to  be  ours.  Belief, 
hope,  knowledge,  trust,  love  and  will,  are  all  of  kin  to  truth, 
and  he  who  cultivates  these  graces  shall  yet  be  filled  with 
righteousness. 

Hope  is  based  in  belief.  “It  is  an  anchor  to  the  soul.” 
In  proportion  as  I  believe  a  thing  do  I  hope  for  its  truth. 
In  proportion  as  I  believe  in  others  do  I. hope  for  their 
health  and  prosperity.  We  rest  in  our  hopes.  The  grave 
looks  less  desolate  to  the  hopeful  soul.  Cheerfulness  and 
smiles  are  hope’s  children  The  unbelieving  are  the  hope¬ 
less  and  the  dissatisfied,  he  who  believes  in  nothing,  hopes 
nothing;  the  hopeless  are  the  desperate.  Which  road  will 
you  follow,  dear  reader,  for  the  truest  knowledge?  Do 
doubts  and  skepticism  stand  in  your  way,  and  choke  and 


88 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


strangle  belief?  Destroy  them,  then,  by  not  paying  atten¬ 
tion  to  their  croaking.  Forget  your  doubt  by  keeping  in 
your  mind  and  constantly  before  your  eyes  that  which  you 
love,  or  that  which  you  would  like  to  believe  in  and  be.  It 
is  by  the  attention  we  bestow  upon  little  things  in  the  mind 
that  makes  impassable  mountains  of  them;  forget,  or  refuse 
to  behold  them,  and  they  become  mole  hills. 

Have  you  an  enemy — one  whom  you  can  scarce  endure  ? 
You  know  no  good  of  him.  This  feeling  does  not  make 
you  happy— better  destroy  it  speedily.  Visit  him  in  his 
prosperity  and  in  his  affliction  frequently ;  talk  with  him  ; 
interchange  ideas  with  him  ;  enter  into  his  life-plans  and 
hopes.  In  process  of  time  you  will  find  some  weakness  in 
him  that  will  arouse  your  pity,  which  is  not  far  from  friend¬ 
ship.  The  ingredients  necessary  for  success  in  this  is,  first, 
a  desire  on  your  part  to  bring  about  the  result,  if  for  noth¬ 
ing  else  than  your  own  peace  of  soul  ;  second,  a  belief  in 
your  ability  to  accomplish  what  you  undertake  ;  third,  a 
cheerful  hope  of  success  ;  fourth,  a  true  knowledge  of  your¬ 
self — of  your  self-control  and  psychological  power,  and  of 
extraneous  means  to  affect  him  physically,  such  as  gifts,  or 
good  and  unobtrusive  acts.  My  word  for  it,  before  you  are 
done  with  your  man  you  will  be  surprised  at  the  amount  of 
good  feeling  and  friendship  that  will  be  developed  between 
you.  Perhaps  he  fancies  you  have  done  him  a  wrong.  If 
you  can  possibly  find  some  flaw  in  yourself,  go  and  accuse 
yourself  to  him,  and  beg  his  pardon ;  accuse  yourself  for 
the  very  things  you  know  he  is  guilty  of,  but  never  accuse 
or  upbraid  him.  But  if  you  do  this  with  doubt  and  unbe¬ 
lief  in  your  heart  of  any  good  in  him,  your  eyes  will  look 
your  distrust,  and  he  will  be  driven  away  from  you  as  from 
a  reptile.  Control  begins  at  home. 

Consider  the  value  of  friendship,  and  the  evils  growing 
out  of  enmity.  Meditate  upon  your  enemy,  and  when  thus 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND. 


89 


wrapped  in  thought,  with  your  attention  fixed  upon  him, 
lo  !  your  spirit  flashes  like  the  lightnings  to  him,  and  min¬ 
gles  with  his  spirit,  thus  leaving  an  impression  for  either 
good  or  evil,  just  as  you  feel.  Your  belief  in  yourself  is  of 
importance  here,  for  if  you  doubt  yourself,  and  the  Good 
God  who  dwells  alike  in  you  and  your  enemy,  your  prayers 
fall  far  short  of  the  mark,  and  you  will  find  your  will  weak 
and  your  mind  scattering.  Know  you  not  that  the  same 
creative  power  called  him  into  existence  that  did  you  ?  Dare 
you  question  the  purposes  and  wisdom  of  the  creator  ?  Why 
do  you  hate  or  dislike  him  ?  Because  he  does  different  than 
you  wish  him  to  !  Because  he  is  not  as  you  wish  him  to  be  ! 
Ah  !  It  is  the  same  old  story,  “Great  I  and  little  you.” 
Better  by  far  “pluck  the  motes  out  of  your  own  eyes”  be¬ 
fore  you  essay  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  your  neighbor. 
When  you  judge  others  you  are  judging  God,  and  yourself , 
for  God  is  in  all  and  is  all.  Then  ponder  these  things  well, 
my  friend,  for  “Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall 
obtain  mercy.”  Woe  to  him  who  thinks  wrathfully  of 
others.  There  is  no  divinity  in  wrath.  God  could  not  be 
Infinite  if  all  things  were  alike  !  If  you  are  good  show 
your  goodness  by  increasing  the  good.  That  is  our  work. 
Believe  in  all  things,  because  they  are  of  the  Father — you 
know  not  but  your  enemy  was  given  to  try  you  !  Can  you 
stand  the  test  ?  Wrath  piles  up  wrath  as  wood  piled  on  a 
fire,  but  “gentle  blows  kill  the  devil.” 

Which  road  will  you  follow,  reader,  belief  or  unbelief — 
in  order  to  make  the  most  of  yourself  ?  Which  leads  to 
power  ? 


CHAPTER  IX. 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  MIND.— Continued. 


KNOWLEDGE. 

# 

It  is  said  that  “  knowledge  is  power.”  This  may  be  so  in 
one  sense,  but  let  ns  examine  and  see  wherein  it  is  true. 
There  are  different  kinds  of  knowledge,  some  of  which  are 
a  destructive  power.  The  knowledge  of  this  world  is  based 
on  facts  gathered  through  experience.  All  the  facts  knowm 
have  reference  to  matter,  and  things  related  thereto.  So 
the  relationship  of  things  is  the  sum  total  of  human  knowl¬ 
edge  as  founded  on  facts.  Is  destruction  power  ?  It  is  not 
reasonable  to  call  that  power  wdiich  destroys  health  and 
happiness;  in  fact,  weakness  is  a  more  fitting  name  for  it. 
Of  course,  there  is  force  manifested  in  destruction;  but  it 
cannot  be  said  to  come  from  knowledge. 

To  illustrate:  In  the  construction  of  an  edifice,  some 
mistake,  blunder,  or  oversight,  leaves  a  defect  in  some 
important  part,  and  after  a  time,  in  some  manner — even  in 
the  settling  of  the  building  it  falls  to  the  ground,  and  in 
a  moment  the  labor  of  years,  notwithstanding  the  knowledge 
of  many  skilled  artisans,  may  be  ruined  through  the  weak¬ 
ness  of  ignorance.  Shall  w7e  say,  then,  that  ignorance  is 
power  ?  It  would  be  just  as  logical  as  to  say  that  knowledge  is 
power ,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  knowledge  has  some  real 
and  lasting  benefit  to  confer.  Is  such  the  fact  ?  Is  there 
anything  real  in  our  much- boasted  knowledge? 

Man’s  happiness  and  health  is  of  more  importance  to  him 


KNOWLEDGE. 


tlian  anything  else  in  existence;  and  that  which  will  confer 
the  greatest  amount  of  these  upon  the  greatest  number 
must  be  real  power.  It  is  claimed  by  the  church  that  the 
knowledge  of  God  will  do  this.  This,  indeed,  might  be  the 
case  if  there  was  any  such  knowledge  in  existence.  We 
know  nothing  whatever  of  God!  Nature  we  see  every  day, 
but  all  any  one  actually  knows  of  it  could  be  put  in  a  very 
small  compass.  All  we  know  is  that  which  happens  under 
our  immediate  observation.  That  which  happens  in  one 
place  may  be  known  to  a  few  persons  in  that  locality;  but 
that  which  happens  in  another  place  is  unknown  to  them. 
So,  it  is  easily  seen  that  that  which  any  one  person  actually 
knows  of  nature  and  its  phenomena  is  very  small.  The 
most  of  what  we  think  we  know  is  mere  hearsay. 

In  the  sciences  even,  we  shall  find  the  same  weakness. 
Chemistry  is  based  upon  experiments  made  during  past 
centuries  to  the  present  date,  which  experiments,  indeed, 
illustrate  wonderful  mysteries.  But  what  is  really  known 
save  the  effects  of  certain  combinations  ?  A  person  learns 
how  to  produce  the  phenomena,  and  to  repeat  the  names, 
etc.,  of  the  chemicals  and  the  products,  and  he  forthwith 
imagines  he  possesses  a  wonderful  amount  of  knowledge, 
and  is  immediately  dubbed  “  Professor.”  The  bulk  of  the 
knowledge  is  in  a  long  catalogue  of  names  intended  to 
mystify  the  ignorant  to  the  glory  of  the  “Professors.” 

It  is  certainly  a  great  thing.  For  gunpowder  was 
invented;  forthwith  war  became  a  4 4  science.”  44  Military 
tactics”  are  a  great  thing!  The  possession  of  this  knowl¬ 
edge  helps  a  man  up  wonderfully!  To  be  44 major,”  or 
“general,”  or  44 colonel,”  is  to  be  up  in  the  clouds!  They 
tread  upon  the  earth  as  if  they  disdained  it;  butchers,  pilla¬ 
gers,  ravishers!  the  destroyers  of  peaceful  homes!  What  a 
power!  The  science  of  government  is  built  upon  the  blood 
ye  have  shed.  What  a  store  of  knowledge  it  takes  to  be  a 


KNOWLEDGE. 


legislator,  gQvernor,  president  or  king!  To  make  laws  to 
liang  the  lowly,  and  to  enable  those  who  have  knowledge  to 
escape. 

Look  yon  at  the  vast  sums  of  money  spent  yearly  to  keep 
the  government  of  even  one  State  running.  (Now,  we  are 
not  regretting  the  money,  but  are  thinking  of  the  aching 
limbs  and  backs  that  toil  year  in  and  year  out  to  support 
this  cursed  display  of  knowledge.)  For  why  does  this 
government  system  exist  ?  So  that  millions  of  soldiers  may 
be  kept  in  worse  than  idleness ;  so  that  hosts  of  the  so-called 
great  may  live  without  toil;  so  that  the  ill-gotten  gains  of 
the  rich  may  be  guarded,  and  th protected  in  their  legal¬ 
ized  swindling  and  high-handed  robbing  —  so  that  the 
millions  may  be  kept  subservient  to  the  few. 

All  legislation  and  governments  are  based  upon  the  false 
and  illogical  assumption  that  “  the  dear  people”  need  force 
to  compel  them  to  do  right.  Is  not  this  assumption  based 
in  ignorance  of  the  real  character  of  mankind  ?  What  kind 
of  knowledge  is  it  that  springs  out  of  falsehood?  It  is  a  lie 
from  foundation  up.  Look  how  you  have  multiplied  legis¬ 
lation  till  the  laiv  books  exceed  the  brains  of  the  ivorld. 
Law  is  now  a  science ,  about  which  its  professors  differ  as 
much  as  the  professors  of  theology  do  about  religion. 

To  keep  this  hydra-headed  monster  alive  colleges  are 
built  and  sustained,  wherein  the  most  promising  youth  of 
the  land  are  immured  to  bleach,  fade,  and  grow  premature¬ 
ly  old,  in  order  to  learn— what  ?  Legal  quibbles,  techni¬ 
calities,  and  precedents,  whereby  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases,  justice  may  be  defeated.  In  the  great  (?)  courts 
of  law  the  best  talent  is  generally  arrayed  against  justice, 
and  in  favor  of  wrong.  Law  signifies  rule,  and  rule  signi¬ 
fies  a  king  and  “  nobility” — false  distinctions  among  men. 
Why  do  they  exist  ?  So  that  the  few  can  fatten  upon  the 
toil  of  others ;  so  that  a  few  can  ride  in  coaches,  dressed  in 


KNOWLEDGE. 


93 


the  finest  fabrics,  wnile  the  many  can  walk,  (or  “  tramp,” 
as  it  is  now  fashionable  to  call  it),  and  go  in  rags. 

A  short  time  ago,  I  saw  a  man  lying  under  a  bridge.  I 
asked  a  Methodist  “  divine,”  with  whom  I  was  talking,  why 
that  man  was  lying  there?  “  Oh!  I  don’t  know",”  said  he; 
“  I  suppose  it  is  some  tramp  laid  down  there  to  rest.  I 
have  no  use  for  that  kind  of  people.”  And  the  law  is  for 
the  upholding  of  that  spirit.  They  nailed  the  poor  “  tramp” 
of  Galilee  upon  the  cross  in  the  olden  time.  Ah,  me! 
What  a  world  of  knowledge  this  is. 

Chemistry  has  given  birth  to  the  science  of  medicine; 
another  assumption  based  in  ignorance.  It  assumes 
that  disease  is  a  thing  of  the  body,  and  that  physical 
substances — drugs — have  power  to  cure  it.  Bah  !  The 
more  medicine  you  take  the  sooner  you  die.  The 
wholo  system  is  mere  guess-work.  Anatomy  and  phy¬ 
siology  may  be  termed  sciences  ;  but  they  are  merely 
the  observation  of  the  body.  When  it  comes  to  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  their  facts  to  practical  utility,  aside  from  surgery, 
“humbug”  expresses  its  real  knowledge.  And  yet,  see 
how  the  arm  of  the  law  is  thrown  around  its  army  of 
cormorants  and  extortionists  to  protect  them  in  their  rob¬ 
bery  of  the  ignorant  toilers. 

You  tell  them  that  all  diseases  spring  from  the  mind,  and 
a  fallen,  reversed,  perverted  and  monstrous  love  nature, 
and  that  drugs  only  palliate  symptoms,  but  never  cure  any 
disease,  and  they  elevate  their  professional  noses  with  a 
sneer  and  a  laugh.  They  know  it  all,  because,  forsooth, 
they  have  passed  an  examination  and  have  a  “  diploma,” 
and  by  virtue  of  knowledge  oppose  every  advance  in  the 
healing  art.  What  a  wonderful  science  ! 

Then,  again,  there  is  the  church  ;  what  a  power  it  is  ! 
“  By  their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them.”  What  are  its  fruits  ? 
its  basic  principle  is  the  authority  of  a  musty  old  book — - 


94 


KNOWLEDGE. 


“the  Bible” — over  which  a  ceaseless  strife  is  kept  up  as  to 
its  real  meaning.  Thoughts  and  legends,  hearsay  narra¬ 
tives,  so-called  facts  of  the  long  ago,  called  “holy.”  An 
assumption  of  ail  overruling  Providence  who  answers  long- 
drawn  words,  accompanied  with  “  holy  ”  hands  uplifted, 
and  eyes  turned  upward,  in  public  and  in  private,  to  be 
seen  and  heard  of  men  ;  a  Providence  who  loves  some  and 
hates  others  :  an  idea  at  once  at  variance  with  the  sun  that 
shines,  and  the  rain  that  falls,  and  with  every  instinct  of 
a  true  human  being,  and  which  all  nature,  animate  and 
inanimate,  stamps  as  an  assumption  of  ignorance,  based  in 
the  lust  of  rule.  A  pretence  of  holiness,  and  of  humility, 
to  conceal  the  rottenness  of  greed,  lust  and  pride.  Its 
principle  is  that  of  king-craft  and  priest-craft  :  the  few 
ruling,  and  living  by  the  toil  of  the  many.  Church,  sci¬ 
ence  and  State — a  trinity  of  hell  in  which  devils  are 
hatched.  Pride  is  the  floor  of  it.  Is  it  ignorance  or  knowl- 
edge?  Knowledge  gives  the  power  to  rule  ;  but  it  is  the 
ignorance  of  the  masses,  and  of  the  many  honest  and  good 
men  who  preach  and  uphold  this  thing,  which  is  the  foun¬ 
dation.  There  may  be  some  knowledge  about  it ;  but  igno¬ 
rance  exceeds  it,  as  the  sky  exceeds  the  small  earth.  This 
assumption  of  holiness  is  a  falsehood  from  first  to  last, 
and  its  direct  influence  is  to  create  the  feeling  that  one  man 
is  better  than  another.  “Am  I  not  a  child  of  God  ?  And 
you  are  a  child  of  the  devil.  Lo!  I  am  better  than  you, 
because  I  am  holier  than  you,  and  God  loves  me,  and  hates 
you.”  Such  is  the  unspoken  voice  of  the  Christian  world  ; 
but  it  sounds  very  loud.  One  day  is  to  be  kept  holy;  but 
the  other  six  are  unholy;  the  days  of  toil — of  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  the  necessaries  of  life  —  these  are  unholy  days  ; 
idleness  is  holy !  What  a  mockery  of  true  manhood  and  the 
truth!  No  wonder  the  world  runs  mad  with  the  idea  to  get 
rid  of  toil !  The  church  teaches  that  it  was  a  curse  put  upon 


KNOWLEDGE. 


95 


man.  Of  course,  lie  is  at  liberty  to  escape  it  if  lie  can,  and 
tlie  priests  and  aristocrats  of  tlie  world  are  doing  it  upon 
the  hard-earned  bread  of  the  ignorant  dupes.  Why  should 
I  feel  holier  at  one  time  than  at  another  ?  And  how  am  I 
to  enter  into  holiness  ?  To  be  happy  is  to  be  holy,  and 
mankind  find  their  health  and  happiness  in  the  alternation 
of  rest  and  exercise.  Is  one  any  holier  than  the  other  ? 
All  nature  says  uno ,”  and  he  who  teaches  differently  simply 
shows  his  ignorance.  Jesus  was  of  the  same  opinion. 

I  admit  the  Church  to  be  a  power — but  it  derives  its 
power  from  the  ignorance  of  mankind.  Its  creeds  and  dog¬ 
mas  spring  from  ignorance  of  the  character  and  attributes 
of  God  ;  and  the  baseless  supposition  and  assumption  of 
the  existence  of  a  Devil  and  eternal  Hell  torments.  Take 
the  Devil  out,  and  the  churches  would  become  sublime,  and 
grand  schools  of  moral  and  religious  instruction.  Take  the 
Devil  out — and  the  plan  of  salvation  would  have  no  founda¬ 
tion  upon  which  to  rest.  True  it  is,  that  men  need  saving 
from  themselves ,  for  Hell  is  within  them.  But  that  the 
Infinite  Creator  and  author  of  all  things,  should  have  to 
resort  to  a  pitiful  “plan”  to  save  from  his  own  wrath  the 
weaklings  He  called  into  being,  is  too  absurd  to  think  of 
for  a  moment.  It  is  only  ignorance  that  can  honestly  teach, 
and  only  ignorance  that  can  entertain,  such  an  idea.  If  God 
wanted  for  anything,  he  would  be  less  than  God  ;  if  he 
wanted  the  world  saved,  it  would  be  saved  in  a  moment — - 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Man  has  plans,  and  in  his 
ignorance  he  imagines  that  God  has  also.  If  God  hated 
anything  for  one  brief  moment,  the  universe  would  that 
moment  cease  to  be. 

When  we  speak  of  knowledge,  we  speak  of  truth.  Jesus 
was  dumb  when  asked,  “What  is  truth?”  All  knowledge 
is  relative  ;  there  is  no  absolute  knowledge.  So  knowledge, 
in  order  to  conform  to  truth,  must  deal  in  the  relationship 


96 


KNOWLEDGE. 


that  man.  sustains  to  others.  Now,  inasmuch  as  there  is 
only  an  approximation  to  knowledge,  man  must  depend 
upon  his  perception  of  the  truth  as  his  guide  to  the  basis 
of  such  relationship.  This  perception  comes  through  much 
thought,  and  is  an  intuition  or  a  revelation  of  the  truth.  So, 
power,  to  be  of  use ,  must  be  guided  by  perception  or  revela¬ 
tion,  This  comes  to  man  by  the  exercise  of  his  mind — in 
freedom. 

Revelation  to  one  man  will  not  do  for  another,  except  as 
it  helps  him  to  see  ;  nor  will  the  revelation  of  one  age  do 
for  another  ;  for  the  race  progresses,  or  grows  beyond  the 
perceptions  of  a  previous  race.  Now  power  exists  ;  but  it 
is  no  more  in  knowledge  than  in  other  attributes  of  the 
mind  of  equal  radius. 

Kindness  may  have  but  little  knowledge  of  itself,  and  yet 
we  all  know  there  is  more  moral  power  in  it  than  in  mere 
knowing.  Knowledge  is  of  no  use  to  the  soul  save  in  the 
opening  of  the  mind  to  a  perception  of  the  true  relation¬ 
ship  of  things.  In  the  lower  orders  the  law  is  for  the  strong 
to  prey  upon  the  weak  ;  but  man,  in  proportion  as  he  rises 
above  the  brute  plane,  comes  under  the  law  of  equality, 
and  it  is  revealed  to  him  as  a  great  truth.  His  knowledge 
of  his  relationship  to  others  has  changed,  and  he  now  no 
longer  preys  upon  the  ignorance  and  weakness  of  others. 
The  law  is  equal  eights  in  ekeedom. 

He  knows  now  that  power  comes  through  union  of  feel¬ 
ing  and  brotherly  love,  which  no  knowledge  on  earth  can 
give.  Knowledge  is  not  power,  but  it  is  the  road  to  power, 
if  you  can  find  it ;  but  that  which  seems  to  be  the  road  may 
be  a  blind.  The  experiences  of  life  all  have  a  tendency, 
when  looked  at  rightly,  to  wean  us  from  its  toy  shows  and 
vanities.  Facts  are  of  value  only  in  this. 

The  swift- fleeting  years  rudely  tear  the  illusions  and 
delusions  of  youth  from  every  true  man  of  mature  age. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


97 


What,  in  reality,  is  the  knowledge  of  this  earth  worth  beside 
the  bed  of  death,  or  at  the  grave  ?  The  half-witted  clown 
with  an  abiding  hope  and  confidence  in  spirit-life  hath  more 
power  under  such  circumstances  than  all  the  millionaires  in 
the  world  without. 

Power  is  in  self-sustaining  calmness — not  in  money,  nor 
in  knowledge.  The  knowledge  that  binds  a  man  to  this  life 
by  the  development  of  pride,  egotism  and  self-sufficiency, 
is  a  curse,  and  a  source  of  weakness  instead  of  power.  The 
knowledge  that  makes  one  all  alive  to  the  woes  and  misfor¬ 
tunes  of  others  lifts  him  out  of  the  soulless  laws  of  busi¬ 
ness,  and  upward  to  a  recognition  of  the  fatherhood  of  God 
and  the  brotherhood  of  man.  This  is  the  knowledge  that 
gives  power.  This  is  the  knowledge  that  sustains  in  all 
trying  hours. 

Such  claim  very  little  knowledge,  but  much  love.  The 
knowledge  of  this  world — of  matter  and  its  laws — are  for 
this  world,  and  are  true  to  our  senses  while  in  it,  but  are  not 
applicable  to  other  worlds  or  other  senses.  It  may  be — 
nay,  it  is  possible — to  develop  senses  in  this  life  adapted  to 
another  mode  of  existence,  where  pleasures  are  real,  and 
life  is  earnest  and  enduring,  and  your  sciences  of  no  ac¬ 
count,  and  your  gold  as  vapor.  Is  such  knowledge  real 
power?  Yes!  but  it  is  not  knowledge,  but  a  gift  of  the 
Spirit  through  the  death  of  these  sublunary  things.  It  is 
not  of  the  intellect,  but  of  intuition. 

Oh,  how  blind  and  dumb  we  are  !  We  behold  the  miracle 
of  the  rising  sun  daily,  or  feel  it  in  a  perpetual  motion 
within  and  around  us  ;  but  instead  of  being  delighted  at 
having  discovered  the  finger-marks  of  the  Infinite,  we  say, 
“Oh,  that  is  natural  !  ”  Child- like,  we  are  satisfied  with  a 
name;  that  ends  the  discussion;  “I  know  what  that  is! 
That  is  nature.” 

Men  of  science  will  explain  the  laws  of  digestion  with  a 


98 


KNOWLEDGE. 


flourish  of  names,  and  wonderful  erudition;  but  what  does 
all  this  knowledge  amount  to?  Diseases  outgrow  your 
remedies.  We  do  not  know  why  food  in  one  stomach 
changes  into  elements  to  sustain  life,  and  in  another  is  con¬ 
verted  into  acids  and  filth.  Indigestion  !  Ah !  another 
name  to  explain  away  ignorance,  and  to  shove  God  further 
away  from  recognition. 

Such  is  knowledge — an  excuse  to  hide  our  shame — our 
ignorance.  We  do  not  know  how  much  or  how  little  the 
Infinite  adds  himself  to  us,  or  withholds  himself  from  us  in 
our  eating,  drinking,  sleeping,  waking,  thinking  or  talking. 
But  when  I  tell  you  that  the  vital  substance  of  these  bodies 
comes  from  the  intangible — the  unknown  and  immaterial, 
the  supernatural — instead  of  from  the  food  we  eat,  you  say, 
“That  is  all  theory;  that  is  speculation  or  conjecture.” 

I  grant  that  scientific  knowledge  is  good  enough  so  far  as 
it  goes — and  that  is  merely  to  combining  and  compounding 
matter  for  use — and  the  use  has  proved  destructive  to  man’s 
best  interests.  It  has  filled  the  world  with  egotism,  mater¬ 
ialism  and  unbelief.  It  teaches  that  death  is  a  fact ,  fixed 
and  certain.  But  it  will  yet  be  demonstrated  that  death  is 
a  mere  disappearance,  and  that  the  disappearance  is  not  a 
fact  except  to  the  blind — blinded  by  this  world’s  light. 

Knowledge  is  the  basis  for  conjecture.  He  who  does  not 
believe  in  conjecture  is  an  unbeliever,  (trusts  only  in  facts, 
physical,  tangible,  and  shuts  the  windows  of  the  soul 
through  which  we  may  gaze  upon  fields  of  infinite  beauty, 
and  behold  truth  in  its  purity),  and  there  rests  satisfied. 
He  who  believes  nothing  except  what  he  knows,  is  a  very 
small  pattern  of  a  man,  for  in  point  of  reality  he  knows 
nothing. 

The  man  who  ties  himself  to  “facts”  is  like  a  fly  in  a 
spider’s  web  :  he  is  not  satisfied.  There  is  a  wail  within 
him,  as  of  a  drowning  babe.  It  is  only  when  he  can  forget 


KNOWLEDGE. 


99 


himself  and  his  doubts  that  he  is  happy.  When  you  have 
gone  through  the  whole  gamut  of  experiences,  and  find 
reality  and  permanence  in  nothing,  and  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit  as  the  sum  total  of  this  life,  you  have  then  reached 
the  plane  of  knowledge.  This  takes  the  egotism  out  of  a 
man.  He  is  then  empty  and  receptive  of  Divine  influences, 
and  is  led  to  trust ,  and  to  have  confidence  in  creative  wis¬ 
dom.  Trust  leads  to  love  of  God  in  his  works— not  of 
objects,  but  of  a  principle  embodied,  and  working  in  objects . 
Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  road  to  power  starts  at  belief 
in  God. 

He  who  believes  has  Hope.  Hope  is  cheerfulness  and 
happiness.  Truly  we  believe  in  that  which  harmonizes  with 
our  feelings.  To  believe  in  a  thing  through  fear  is  not  be¬ 
lief  in  this  sense,  but  rather  a  conviction  of  experience,  far 
beneath  belief.  It  is  a  shock,  an  agitation,  wherein  there  is 
no  rest  or  satisfaction.  All  conversions  through  fear  testify 
to  this  truth.  He  who  is  converted  through  fear  has  no 
intuition  ;  hence  he  is  not  called  from  above,  but  from 
below. 

Intuition  does  not  come  from  without,  hence  no  teaching 
can  awaken  or  open  it.  Instinctively  we  fear  that  which  is 
not  in  harmony  with  us.  How,  then,  can  we  believe  in  that 
which  we  fear  ?  We  always  desire  to  destroy  that  which 
gives  us  pain.  The  fear  of  God  is  a  pain  which  the  world 
tries  in  vain  to  remove  by  sacrifices,  prayers,  and  flattering 
ceremonies.  Fear  does  not  lead  to  knowledge,  or  blending 
of  natures,  but  to  unreal  and  erroneous  views  of  God  and 
of  each  other.  It  builds  walls  around  us,  as  a  citadel  in 
which  to  defend  ourselves.  It  isolates  man  from  his  fellows, 
and  arms  nation  against  nation. 

We  fear  that  which  we  hate,  and  love  and  serve  that 
which  we  are  in  fellowship  with.  Fear  springs  from  belief, 
but  it  is  in  a  descending  scale:  it  is  beneath  and  not  above. 


100 


KNOWLEDGE. 


The  fearful  are  not  the  hopeful.  Hope  is  the  anchor  of 
the  soul.  It  is  God’s  garden  in  the  soul;  the  Eden  wherein 
the  tree  of  life  and  of  knowledge  grow  side  by  side.  With 
hope,  the  poor  in  their  hovels  can  live  in  palaces  built  in 
air.  Without  hope,  the  rich  in  their  palaces  live  in  real 
hovels. 

Conjecture  is  stirred  in  the  mind  by  the  last  expiring 
wave  of  heat  that  descends  from  Divine  fire,  as  it  deposits 
its  ashes  as  the  facts  and  forms  of  existence.  Belief  is  the 
flame-tip  ;  hope  the  glow  of  the  red  flame  ;  knowledge  is 
where  the  flame  bursts  forth  ;  unbelief  is  cold  ashes.  Bight 
belief  is  belief  in  man,  and  it  inspires  hope  in  man,  and 
gives  a  correct  knowledge  of  man.  This  is  a  correct  knowl¬ 
edge  of  God.  How  can  we  believe  in  God  when  we  do  not 
believe  in  man  ?  How  can  we  have  hope  in  man  when  we 
fear  him,  and  hold  aloof  from  each  other  ?  How  can  we 
know  God  when  we  really  do  not  know  any  thing  in  exist¬ 
ence? 

I.  Let  us  investigate  all  things  ;  for  this  is  experience. 

II.  Let  us  believe  in  all  things ;  for  there  is  a  spark  of  good 
in  all,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  may  be  found  therein. 

III.  Let  us  hope  all  things ;  for  the  good  manifests  itself 
in  hope.  Be  of  good  cheer,  for  all  is  well.  The  hopeless 
are  desperate. 

IY.  Let  us  know  all  things  ;  for  the  essence  of  things  is 
fire  ;  and  he  who  knows  the  most  is  the  purest,  having  been 
purified  of  his  pride  and  vanity  by  the  absorption  of  the 
essence  of  things. 

This  is  the  mundane  circle — the  four  elements — the  four 

% 

points  of  the  compass.  He  who  has  passed  around  this 
circle  has  returned  to  the  point  from  whence  he  started,  viz : 
nature — indifference.  He  is  a  child  again,  without  pride  or 
egotism,  hence  is  receptive  to  the  Divine  influences,  which 
lead  him  in  a  supernatural  manner  upward  to  the  abode  of 


KNOWLEDGE. 


101 


the  gods.  Those  who  return  to  this  point  are  capable  of 

going  higher. 

We  all  revolve  in  the  mundane  circle  in  quest  of  knowl¬ 
edge.  Some  gain  a  little,  others  a  great  deal.  .  To  some  it 
imparts  trust  or  confidence  in  man  (or  God)  ;  others  grow 
misanthropical,  and  become  soured  on  the  road,  and  trust 
no  one.  Acid  is  cold;  it  kills  the  warmth  of  the  blood,  and 
gradually,  but  surely,  extinguishes  the  fires  of  life.  Dis¬ 
trust  is  acid. 

We  become  fixed  in  our  opinions  on  the  circle,  and  branch 
off,  either  upon  the  upward  or  the  downward  road.  Some, 
however,  revolve  in  the  circle  of  knowledge  all  their  lives, 
and  still  have  no  opinions  of  anything  outside  of  the  mun  - 
dane  circle. 

It  is  said  that  only  fools  have  confidence  in  mankind ; 
but  this  is  a  mistake.  The  best  and  greatest  men  the  world 
has  ever  known  have  been  child-like  in  their  trustful  nature. 
The  rogue  and  the  knave  are  never  trustful. 

We  have  existed  previous  to  this  life;  and  we  come  here 
from  above  or  below,  bringing  the  aroma  of  the  world  we 
came  from  with  us. 

There  are  three  grades  of  mind,  corresponding  to  the 
three  general  conditions  of  Spirit-life.  This  world  and  this 
life  are  a  battle-field  between  the  celestial  and  the  terrine 
worlds,  an  intermediate  state  where  souls  are  given  a  chance 
to  ascend  higher  if  they  choose.  There  are  many  grades  of 
being,  both  ascending  and  descending ;  and  man  mentally 
and  physically  corresponds  thereto. 

The  spirit  of  the  world  you  will  inhabit  after  death  is 
ivithin  you,  and,  as  sure  as  fate,  will  gravitate  to  its  home 
when  freed  by  death.  The  spirit  of  the  terrine  world  be¬ 
gets  all  manner  of  vices  and  diseases,  whose  culmination, 
unless  healed,  is  total  loss  of  all  power  and  consciousness. 
All  love  and  humane  affections  come  from  the  celestial.  All 


102 


KNOWLEDGE. 


things  die  in  love,  and  all  things  are  born  of  love.  The 
extremity  of  grief  is  the  beginning  of  joy.  The  last  throb 
of  pain  is  the  first  throb  of  pleasure.  Ecstacy  is  close  upon 
the  confines  of  despair.  The  extreme  woes  of  hell  vomit 
out  souls  purified  by  fire.  Extreme  knowledge  strips  a  man 
naked  of  his  egotistical  garments,  and  shrouds  him  at  the 
gate  as  if  for  burial. 

This  is  the  death  of  knowledge  :  the  state  of  the  mind  is 
changed  ;  it  has  reversed  its  polarity.  His  intuitions  begin 
to  work  in  his  despair  of  life,  and  he  receives  that  wrhich  is 
to  the  soul  what  knowledge  is  to  the  mind,  or  food  to  the 
body.  Intuition  begins  where  worldly  knowledge  ceases. 
Its  methods  are  inductive,  instead  of  deductive.  To  the 
intuitive,  knowledge  comes  by  impact,  rather  than  by  con¬ 
tact.  All  revelation  comes  through  intuition. 

The  foregoing  is  the  secret  of  all  conversions.  The  des¬ 
pair  of  the  sinner,  when  at  its  culmination,  dies.  Its  death 
is  the  birth  of  ecstacy,  which  many  mistake  for  the  regen¬ 
eration.  But  it  is  perfectly  natural  that  pleasure  should 
follow  pain:  hence  there  is  nothing  supernatural  in  con¬ 
versions. 

The  deeper  and  more  heartfelt  the  despair,  the  greater 
the  pleasure  that  follows  it,  and  the  more  real  and  lasting 
is  the  conversion.  But  God’s  Spirit  comes  through  intui¬ 
tions — spontaneously,  by  labor  and  constant  and  unwearied 
attention — by  purification  of  the  mind,  and  a  preparation 
of  the  body  for  its  reception.  It  is  natural  to  believe  in 
the  supernatural,  but  unnatural  not  to  believe  in  it 


CHAPTER  X. 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 

The  most  fatal  enemy  of  the  soul  is  doubt.  He  who 
doubts  his  own  powers  cripples  himself.  He  who 
forgets  his  doubt  rises  superior  to  himself.  He  who 
believes  in,  and  has  confidence  in  himself,  has  more  power 
than  he  who  doubts  his  own  powers.  Moreover,  the  more 
confidence  a  man  has  in  others  the  greater  is  his  friendship, 
and  the  more  friends  he  has.  Friendship  is  the  measure 
of  influence,  and,  consequently,  of  power.  (In  order  to 
simplify,  I  will  only  speak  of  belief,  knowledge  and  faith  in 
this  chapter.)  Out  of  belief  comes  knowledge;  and  out  of 
knowledge  comes  faith,  or,  rather,  that  which  approximates 
faith  and  makes  it  possible,  viz:  Intuition. 

Perfect  faith  comes  from  perfect  knoivledge;  but  inas¬ 
much  as  wre  are  imperfect  beings,  and,  consequently,  have 
no  perfect  knoivledge — not  even  of  ourselves,  and  still  less 
of  others — how  can  we  even  approximate  a  definition  of 
faith  ?  much  less  a  knowledge  of  the  powers  it  may  confer 
upon  its  possessor!  Why  scoff  at  the  sayings  of  Jesus, 
wThen  we  do  not  even  know  what  he  meant  by  faith  ?  He 
certainly  estimated  its  value  very  highly,  for  he  said:  “  If 
ye  have  faith  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed ,  ye  shall  say  to 
the  mountains,  be  ye  moved  and  cast  into  the  sea,  and  it 
shall  be  done.”  It  is  evident  he  coupled  it  with  the  will, 
for  it  could  be  done  by  a  command ,  and  no  prayer  or  sup¬ 
plication  is  even  hinted  at.  What  great  thinker  ever 
extolled  doubt  ?  or  taught  that  it  ever  conferred  any  great 


104 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE 


blessing  upon  its  possessor?  Not  one!  It  is  simply  a 
destructive  power — a  negation;  it  builds  nothing;  it  destroys 
all  that  it  touches. 

A  desire  to  know  the  truth  is  commendable.  Respect 
for  others  leads  to  the  interchange  of  ideas  and  investiga¬ 
tion  This  is  good.  Never  doubt  a  proposition  till  you  are 
sure  you  thoroughly  understand  it.  Never  doubt  the  truth 
of  another  till  his  falsehood  is  a  demonstrated  fact.  Know 
a  thing  before  you  reject  it.  Be  hospitable  to  the  way¬ 
farer:  for  although  you  may  be  imposed  upon  many  times, 
you  may  some  time  entertain  an  angel.  Some  thoughts  are 
angel-sent. 

Said  a  Materialist  to  me:  “  Am  I  to  entertain  a  proposi¬ 
tion  simply  because  you  assert  it?  Suppose  you  say  the 
moon  is  made  of  green  cheese — am  I  to  accept  it?  That  is 
too  absurd!”  Such  puerile  arguments  are  used  by  pretended 
thinkers.  It  is  as  logical  to  say  the  moon  is  “  made  of 
green  cheese”  as  that  a  flower  is  made  of  mud.  Either  one 
is  absurd;  but  the  self-same  elements  enter  into  and  com¬ 
pose  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  earth,  light,  thought,  and  “  green 
cheese .”  Such  are  the  arguments  the  doubter  is  driven  to, 
to  sustain  a  semblance  of  logic. 

Knowledge  is  the  ultimate  of  mental  action,  and  if,  at  its 
highest  point,  or  apex,  it  meets  the  spirit  world  with  suffi¬ 
cient  intensity  to  become  impregnated  with  a  desire  for 
something  grander,  and  a  more  lofty  idea  of  human  nature 
and  its  possibilities ;  with  not  merely  an  idea  u  to  know 
good  and  evil,”  but  to  know  the  good,  and  to  have  power  to 
do  it  under  all  circumstances,  then,  indeed,  it  may  truly 
be  said  to  be  the  road  to  power.  As  such  I  recognize  it. 

Analyze,  sift,  digest  all  the  facts  and  phenomena  of  this 
existence;  weigh  the  stars  and  suns  of  space,  and  trace 
them  in  their  eternal  voyage  ;  dissect  the  human  form,  and 
search  the  convolutions  of  the  brain,  and,  if  at  the  end, 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


105 


you  have  no  belief  in  the  divinity  of  creative  power,  no  be¬ 
lief  in  the  spirit  that  has  escaped  your  telescope,  your  scal¬ 
pel,  and  your  scales,  tell  me  not  that  your  knowledge  is  the 
road  to  power.  For  real  power  is  repose,  rest,  trust,  confi¬ 
dence  and  harmony.  That  which  brings  no  satisfaction  and 
rest  is  destructive. 

So,  knowledge  may  build  up  the  soul  and  expand  it,  or  it 
may  contract  and  weaken  it.  If  knowledge  makes  a  man 
egotistical  and  proud,  it  does  him  harm  ;  but  that  knowl¬ 
edge  which  causes  one  to  realize  how  small  and  insignificant 
he  is,  and  how  very  little  he  knowTs,  and  of  how  little  value 
that  knowledge  really  is  to  him,  makes  one  negative,  and 
receptive  to  the  world  of  intelligences  which  surround  him. 
Then  it  is  that  they  come  near  and  speak  to  his  soul,  and 
he  conceives  an  idea  of  “Brahm,”  “Allah,”  “Jehovah,” 
“Jove,”  or  “God.” 

The  knowledge  of  facts  is  good,  for  it  expands  the  mind  ; 
and  when  the  mind  is  sufficiently  expanded,  it  leads  to  deep 
thought,  reverie,  abstraction  ;  and  abstraction  opens  the 
door  of  the  soul,  viz :  the  imagination. 

The  imaginative  are  the  credulous.  Powder  does  not  come 
from  one  thing  alone,  but  from  the  All — the  Infinite. 
Knowledge  is  necessary  to  weakness  and  infancy;  but  for 
the  gods  there  is  no  knowledge — it  is  simply  faith. 

Faith  includes  all  things  of  an  inferior  nature,  as  the 
over- arching  dome  of  heaven  encircles  all  within  it.  It  is 
beyond  all  knowledge,  then  wrho  can  explain  it,  or  who 
can  understand  it  ?  It  is  to  the  soul  what  knowledge  is  to 
the  mind.  As  w7e  can  only  approximate  knowledge  men¬ 
tally,  so  wre  can  only  approximate  faith  intuitively. 
According  to  our  knowledge,  so  is  our  faith.  In  exact  pro¬ 
portion  as  wre  know  wife,  children  and  friends,  do  we  have 
faith  in  them. 

Knowledge  is  not  predicated  upon  anything  but  truth. 


106 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


It  is  not  satisfactory  to  merely  know  that  a  thing  is  false. 
We  must  know  the  truth  in  order  to  be  satisfied,  and  to  be 
made  whole  and  clean.  As  yon  know  yourself,  you  have 
faith  in  yourself.  As  you  know  God  you  have  faith  in  him. 
All  that  the  mind  can  grasp  of  anything  is  that  which 
appears,  and  this  appearance  is  a  revelation  of  something 
hidden.  It  may  come  in  dreams  or  in  visions,  or  in 
reverie,  or  in  contemplation,  reading  of  books,  or  conversa¬ 
tion;  or  listening  to  sermons  or  lectures  may  provoke  the 
conditions  necessaiy  to  induce  revelations;  but  in  whatever 
way  it  may  be  induced,  it  is  subjective;  it  is  a  union  with 
the  thing  thought  of — a  oneness  of  spirit  and  being. 

You  have  faith  in  yourself  because  you  are  at  one  with 
yourself.  You  have  faith  in  your  wife  in  exact  proportion 
as  you  are  one  with  her.  Faith  in  things  changeable,  and 
hence  untrue,  is  destructive;  because  they  desert  you  and 
leave  you  empty. 

Faith  is  a  power  which  comes  to  man  as  a  revelation,  in 
the  expansion  of  the  soul,  when  the  mind  is  closed  up,  laid 
away,  as  it  were,  or  suspended — held  in  abeyance.  Then 
things  sublunary  disappear;  and  the  ineffable  glory  appears, 
and,  entering  in,  is  one  with  souL-giving  powrer  undreamed 
of  by  mortal  man.  Faith  steadies ,  sustains  and  fortifies  the 
will;  combines  all  spirit  in  one.  The  powers  of  dissolu¬ 
tion  and  of  creation  are  of  faith.  It  is  effortless.  It  is  the 
suspension  of  all  mundane  laws. 

Knowledge  is  of  no  account,  only  as  it  assists  one  to 
enter  into  the  Spirit.  Then  it  is  set  aside,  as  a  man  having 
scaled  a  wall,  and  not  being  obliged  to  return,  throws  the 
ladder  down.  Think  you  this  faith  and  power  can  come  to 
us?  Nay!  We  must  ascend  to  it  through  a  regeneration 
in  the  Spirit ,  and  by  a  birth  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  another 
mode  of  existence,  to  be  entered  only  through  birth.  Salva- 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


107 


tion  is  from  weakness,  disease  and  death,  and  thus  from 
hell ;  for  hell  is  an  outgrowth  of  these. 

We  work  the  best  we  can  to  prepare  the  way;  but  we 
make  mistakes  and  failures  in  our  ignorance,  and  fall 
continually.  But  faith  is  a  gift  of  the  Spirit  in  answer  to 
our  intentions  and  aspirations.  In  faith  there  are  no 
mistakes  nor  failures.  It  is  not  possible  to  lose  faith  when 
once  attained.  How  is  it  possible  for  a  child  after  it  is 
born,  to  become  as  it  was  prior  to  birth  ?  Faith  is  universal. 
There  is  no  one  or  particular  faith. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  “the  faith;”  consequently 
faith  cannot  be  lost,  any  more  than  God  can  be.  Talk 
about  “falling  from  grace,”  and  “losing  the  faith!”  Non¬ 
sense!  They  never  have  any  to  lose.  There  is  a  fall, 
however,  in  the  pretense  of  possession.  The  pretender 
always  falls. 

It  is  the  habit  to  speak  of  faith  as  a  something  akin  to 
belief — as  blind — as  less  than  knowledge.  But  this  shows 
our  ignorance.  Faith  is  to  the  Divine  mind  what  knowl¬ 
edge  is  to  the  natural.  Through  and  by  knowledge  things 
of  use  are  produced  and  multiplied  in  the  earth.  Through 
and  by  faith  matter  is  evolved  from  the  spirit,  which,  from 
a  chaotic,  formless  state,  takes  form  such  as  the  will  may 
determine. 

By  this  method  Jesus  made  bread  and  fish  for  the  hungry 
multitude.  A  few  loaves  and  fishes  were  sufficient  to  fur¬ 
nish  a  nucleus  of  attraction,  when,  in  obedience  to  his  will, 
his  Spirit  flowed  in  and  assumed  the  form  desired. 

In  support  of  this  Idea  that  it  was  his  spirit  which  en¬ 
tered  into  the  loaves  and  fishes  and  multiplied  them,  i.  e., 
was  transmuted  there  and  then  into  bread  and  meat,  please 
read  his  own  declaration  (see  Mark  xiv  cli.,  23d  and  24th 
verses,  Luke  xxii,  19,  Matthew  xxvi,  27,  28,  29).  “  Take 

and  eat,  this  is  my  body,”  etc.,  “Drink  !  this  is  my  blood  !” 


108 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


“I  and  my  Father  are  one.”  How  beautiful,  and  yet  so 
simple  !  God  is  in  everything,  and  is  everything.  We  eat 
him,  we  drink  him,  and  we  breathe  him.  These  things 
support  these  bodies,  but  the  thoughts  we  think  are  the 
breathing  in  of  our  spirits  from  his  spirit.  The  elements 
composing  food  are  the  same  as  those  composing  our  bodies. 
Attraction  is  the  soul  and  life  of  every  atom  of  matter  in 
existence,  this  principle  is  in  humanity  termed  affection  or 
love,  and  Jesus  said,  “  God  is  a  Spirit,” — not  a  form  but  a 
Spirit  John,  the  “beloved  Apostle,”  in  speaking  of  the 
same  thing  afterwards,  wrote,  “God  is  Love,”  and  “No  man 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time.”  Why  ?  because  spirits  are  not 
seen  but  felt.  Anger,  pride,  avarice,  etc.,  are  spirits,  but 
they  have  no  form  except  as  they  take  form  in  acts,  they  are 
felt  within  us,  and  manifest  themselves  outwardly.  Thus 
God  or  love  dwells  in  all  that  is  ; — and  he  who  hath  most 
love  in  his  heart  sees  and  feels  the  most  of  God  in  all  out¬ 
ward  manifestations,  because  h q  feels  him  within.  So  when 
you  eat  your  meals,  consider  it  is  partaking  of  “  the  sacra¬ 
ment.”  The  thoughts  you  shall  have  of  your  food  shall 
call  the  spirit  uppermost  in  your  minds  thereto,  and  charge 
it  with  life  and  health  ;  or  if  you  eat  with  an  envious,  cov¬ 
etous,  or  an  angry  mind — then  disease  and  death  attends 
your  eating  and  drinking.  If  you  love  your  food,  it  does 
you  good,  but  if  you  loathe  it  for  any  reason,  you  better 
not  partake.  Be  thankful  for  what  the  Good  Lord  doth 
send  ;  for  in  so  doing  you  do  become  full  to  overflowing 
with  the  spirit,  and  food  becomes  spiritualized  and  multi¬ 
plied,  assuming  any  quality  desired.  Not  only  that,  but 
food  may  be  produced  spontaneously,  as  Jesus  produced  it, 
or  any  poisonous  substance  be  made  harmless — solid  matter 
moved  from  place  to  place  without  visible  force.  The  meth¬ 
ods  by  which  this  may  be  done  are  not  easily  explained,  even 
when  one  possesses  the  power.  Why  ?  because  the  power 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


109 


does  not  exist  wholly  in  mind.  Mind  leads  up  to  it,  as  it 
leads  to  the  soul.  Faith  is  a  soul-power  which  descends 
into  the  man  at  times  by  reason  of  the  union  of  Belief  and 
Knowledge.  For  knowledge  is  a  thing  felt  by  the  soul,  as 
well  as  comprehended  by  mind.  I  do  not  believe  2x2  make 
4  I  know  it — it  is  a  demonstrated  certainty;  and  my  soul 
rests  satisfied  in  its  fullness  of  this  truth.  Belief  is  in  things 
of  wliich  the  soul  may  glimpse  in  an  uncertain  twilight, — 
which  when  found  out  becomes  a  certainty  to  the  soul, 
and  knowledge  to  the  mind — thus  the  soul  and  mind  are 
connected,  or  the  door  opens,  for  Spirit  with  its  satisfaction 
and  rest,  to  enter  into  the  man  in  power.  The  nature  of 
the  knowledge  determines  the  elevation  and  satisfaction  of 
the  soul,  and  the  degree  of  power  given.  Thus  does  one 
enter  into  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  enters  into  him,  first  by 
evolution,  second  by  involution.  The  Mind  by  concentra¬ 
tion  and  limitation  of  thought  evolves  a  stream  of  light  in 
one  direction,  which  when  at  its  ultimate  height  receives  a 
rush  of  Spirit  in  which  Power  resides.  In  view  of  this 
principle  of  evolution  Jesus  said:  “  First  seek  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  then  all  other  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.” 
The  kingdom  “is  within  you  it  “is  at  hand  it  “is  like 
unto  a  pearl  of  great  price  or  “like  a  little  leaven  which 
a  woman  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal.”  The  meal  is  a 
type  of  the  body,  mind  and  spirit. 

The  wisdom  of  things  is  seen  in  their  mechanism ;  the 
order  and  harmonious  arrangement  and  adjustment  of  parts, 
and  the  ease  and  perfection  of  motion  without  jar  or  fric¬ 
tion.  The  same  is  true  of  the  mental  and  spiritual  man  as 
of  the  physical.  The  jar  and  friction  of  this  life  is  what 
wrears  out  the  machine  called  man.  Each  and  every  atom 
of  the  body  is  in  motion,  and  they  are  in  health  well  poised 
and  lubricated.  This  is  harmony.  But  when  there  is  not 
a  proper  balance  of  all  the  essentials,  there  is  a  discordant. 


110 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


friction  of  parts,  and  a  loss  of  power,  motion,  health  and 
vigor.  The  sonl  furnishes  the  lubricator,  viz:  magnetism. 
I  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  great  balance- 
wheel — the  regulator,  love — is  sadly  out  of  line. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  harmony,  power,  eternal  youth, 
life,  innocence,  and  peace.  The  principal  element  of  the 
kingdom  is  wisdom  born  of  love  and  will.  If  love  be  lack¬ 
ing,  or  be  of  a  low,  vulgar  order,  the  wisdom  born  of  her 
will  be  inharmonious,  and  the  kingdom  is  that  of  disease. 
By  wisdom,  through  faith,  are  all  things  made.  But  if  the 
wisdom  be  inharmonv,  and  the  faith  be  small,  or  none  at 
all,  what  can  you  expect  to  flow  from  the  spirit;  or,  what 
quality  of  life  will  be  generated % 

Bear  constantly  in  mind,  kind  reader,  that  when  I  speak 
of  God,  I  speak  of  your  power  of  will  and  love.  When  I 
speak  of  wisdom,  I  have  reference  to  the  harmony  of  your¬ 
self.  Harmony  means  a  great  deal.  Hakmony  means  one¬ 
ness;  no  conflict;  no  opposing  elements;  no  warfare 
between  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit.  “  The  lamb  and  lion  have 
lain  down  together.”  Bemember,  health  is  altogether  due 
to  what  little  harmony  we  have.  The  greater  the  harmony, 
the  more  wisdom.  The  greater  the  wisdom,  the  more  life, 
peace,  rest,  pleasure.  Discord  wears  us  out.  The  best  of 
us  scarce  last  half  a  century,  and  that  length  of  time  is 
enough  to  disgust  most  people  of  life. 

We  are  scarcely  able  to  generate  magnetism  enough 
to  keep  this  human  machine  in  order  more  than  fifty  years 
at  the  utmost.  Nowr,  were  the  love  pure  and  innocent,  and 
the  will  strong  and  God-like,  the  wisdom  or  harmony  of 
the  machine  would  be  more  perfect,  and  the  life  evolved,  or 
the  spirit  set  in  motion,  possessed  of  such  power  that 
mountains  might  be  dissolved;  or  bread,  fish,  flowers,  cloth¬ 
ing,  or  human  forms  evoked  at  pleasure,  and  the  machine 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


Ill 


possessing  such  power  could  wear  on  eternally  without 
friction  or  age. 

“  Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do,  because  I  go  to 
the  Father”  (Spirit.)  The  dark  and  noisome  earth — the 
fiery  constellations  of  heaven,  with  their  countless  hosts, 
all  exist  by  the  will  of  God,  and  are  sustained  by  his  love 
and  wisdom.  But  he  lies  slumbering  as  in  a  tomb  in  the 
things  he  has  made !  The  mighty  mountains  piercing  the 
clouds,  crowned  eternally  with  purity,  as  a  flame-tip,  tell 
us  in  their  vomitings  of  fire — in  their  groaning,  and  shaking, 
of  the  nature  of  him  who  sleepeth  beneath. 

Tombstones  are  they,  flame-shaped  and  spiral,  marking 
the  resting  place  of  the  infinite.  They  show  the  oozing 
out  of  his  power,  and  the  aroma  of  his  presence  fills  space, 
things  and  men  with  his  returning  consciousness,  which, 
when  fully  returned,  wall  swallow  up  all  things  as  matter 
in  fire.  The  changing  forms — the  mutability  of  things — 
is  due  to  the  fire  which  dissolves,  changes,  and  combines 
matter.  The  will  baptizes  the  fire  as  with  water,  and  thus 
in  wisdom  preserves  forms,  and  perpetuates  life.  It  holds 
it  in  check,  and  regulates  the  heat  so  that  we  are  not  con¬ 
sumed.  This  is  the  esoteric  meaning  of  the  baptism  with 
water. 

If  the  will  can  restrain  the  fire  through  its  exercise,  it 
also  can  unchain  the  lightnings  and  vomit  out  flame,  'which, 
though  unseen,  shall  not  be  unfelt,  and  which,  meeting 
things  on  the  way,  passes  through,  dissolves,  and  causes 
them  to  disappear  noiselessly,  in  decency  and  in  order.  The 
same  hidden  and  unseen  power  drove  back  the  lightnings 
in  their  mad  revel  on  “  dark  Galilee  ”  at  the  simple  words, 
“  Peace  !  be  still.” 

It  is  the  unnaturalness  of  man  that  keeps  the  Infinite 
under.  We  cannot  return  to  nature,  but  we  can  rise  up  to 
the  supernatural,  and  still  exist.  We  suffer  pain,  because 


112 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


of  tlie  deficiency  of  fire.  How  easy  for  the  strong  will  to 
turn  a  flame  upon  the  dark  door  of  it,  and  exorcise  it  as  if 
by  magic.  We  are  full  of  darkness  and  sorrow,  because 
we  are  vacant.  How  easy  to  be  full  if  we  are  only  wise  ! 

To  attract  the  fire  and  hold  it  by  baptism  is  fullness  ; 
which,,  indeed,  is  life-pleasure  ;  nay!  ecstacy,  beside  which 
trance  is  as  a  dream.  In  purity  all  power  resides.  Fire 
renders  all  things  pure.  It  reduces,  refines,  purifies  and 
illuminates  all  things.  Fire  flows  from  love.  But  you  do 
not  know  what  love  is.  You  think  it  hath  something  of  sex 
in  it  ;  and  so  it  has,  for  sex  is  a  symbol  of  it.  The  ecstacy 
of  a  virgin  soul  when  first  baptized  by  the  contact  of  a 
spirit,  all  in  harmony,  is  a  poor  expression  of  love  in  its 
abstruse  sense.  But  it  is  the  best  I  have.  Love  is  not  the 
soul.  But  the  emotions  we  feel  that  satisfy  us,  we  call 
love.  These  emotions  felt  by  the  soul  are  produced  by 
movements  of  the  spirit  being  projected  by  the  will  from 
the  mind  to  the  soul.  Soul  is  the  mother;  Spirit  is  the 
F ather  ;  and  love  dwells  in  a  latent  state  in  all  things  till 
roused  into  action.  So  Spirit  or  God  being  love,  produces 
emotions  only  by  action,  which  is  effected  by  mind  in  us. 
When  latent  it  is  power — when  active,  the  creator.  The 
highest  and  most  ecstatic  and  exalting  emotions  mankind 
know — those  that  transform  us  into  Gods,  or  debase  us  to  the 
lowest  Hells — are  by  the  union  of  the  sexes  produced. 

It  moves  the  whole  sensorium  of  the  soul,  and  by  its 
motions  evolves  a  spiritual  fire  that  burns  in  the  nerves  like 
a  volcano.  As  a  volcano  vomits  out  molten  earth  and  min¬ 
eral,  so  fire,  trained  by  the  will  (baptism)  decomposes  all 
dross  and  baseness,  which  it  eliminates  from  the  system, 
leaving  nothing  but  the  pure  metal.  Beware  of  the  fire,  if 
you  are  impure  !  it  will  leave  not  a  vestige  of  you,  soul, 
mind  or  body.  Love  builds  up  or  destroys.  Slow,  linger¬ 
ing  decay  is  as  certain  as  rapid  combustion.  Nothing  comes 
out  of  God’s  crucible  but  immortal  beings. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


} 

THE  SOUL. 


“  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.”  —Bible. 

I 

I  have  already  defined  the  soul  as  a  vacuum,  and  herein 
appears  the  impossibility  of  it.  The  sublime  and  the  ridic¬ 
ulous  are  so  closely  united  that  sometimes  one  is  taken  for 
the  other.  Modern  philosophy,  backed  by  science,  says 
there  are  no  vacuums  ;  that  “  nature  abhors  vacuums  ” — 
thus  virtually  admitting  their  existence  ;  for  how  can  nature 
abhor  that  which  has  no  existence  ?  It  is  not  possible  to 
conceive  of  a  thing  which  has  no  foundation  or  existence. 
The  supernatural  is  denied  also,  and  that  shows  the  weak¬ 
ness  and  nakedness  of  philosophy.  The  soul  is  supernatu¬ 
ral,  and  it  is  a  vacuum ;  but  it  is  not  given  to  ordinary  minds 
to  comprehend  this.  How  can  the  natural  mind  believe  in 
that  which  nature  abhors  ?  W e  instinctively  try  to  destroy 
that  which  we  abhor,  and  the  mind  that  rejects  a  proposition 
is  at  variance  therewith,  and  its  thought  is  that  of  destruc¬ 
tion. 

No  man  can  conceive  of  the  supernatural,  except  he  have 
a  something  in  himself  in  harmony  with  the  idea.  The 
soul  is  a  vacuum — it  is  supernatural,  because  nature  cannot 
destroy  it;  and  that  which  is  hidden  is  always  superior  to 
that  which  is  visible.  Soul  corresponds  to  the  feminine 
principle  in  nature,  but  this  correspondence  does  not  make 
a  natural  thing  of  it  at  all.  It  is  not  a  thing,  but  that 
which  gives  birth  to  things.  Attraction  is  the  feminine  of 


114 


THE  SOUL. 


nature,  but  this  is  not  the  soul,  but  that  which  the  soul 
produces  as  a  governing  law  in  nature. 

In  nature,  things  are  moved  by  contact  and  by  impact. 
Operations  by  contact  are  always  downward.  We  cannot 
operate  upwards,  save  as  we  receive  that  which  is  superior 
from  above  by  impact.  This  is  the  way  of  the  spirit. 

Spirit  is  natural,  unnatural,  terrine,  and  celestial,  and 
may  become  supernatural  by  working  itself  out  of  the  laws 
governing  those  four  grades  of  spirit;  or,  in  other  words, 
by  becoming  master  of  all  of  nature’s  methods,  operations, 
modes  of  action,  etc.  This  is  within  the  range  of  man’s 
powers.  This  nature  in  which  we  exist  is  not  infinite. 
There  are  other  natures.  This  is  a  peculiar  one,  in  which 
motion  is  the  law.  Perfection  of  motion  is  the  ultimate  of 
this  nature.  Perfection  is  stagnation,  of  which  we  know 
little.  The  perfect  union  of  soul  and  spirit  is  the  super¬ 
natural,  but  the  spirit  is  swallowed  up  by  soul  in  such 
union. 

This  union  was  called  “Nirwana”  by  Gautama,  which 
Hardy,  the  translator  of  Budhism,  says,  means  annihilation. 

But  he  mistakes.  It  is  an  existence  outside  and  above 
all  human  comprehension.  Hence  the  difficulty  of  explain¬ 
ing  it.  All  spirit  is  fire;  but  spirit  outside  of  soul  has 
quality,  quantity,  sound  and  colors;  which  are  lost  in  the 
fusion  or  oneness  of  soul  and  spirit.  “  Things  of  the  spirit 
are  nonsense  to  the  common  mind.”  Soul  is  not  a  thing, 
save  it  be  united  to  spirit,  neither  can  we  conceive  of  it 
save  in  imagination. 

To  conceive  of  the  soul  is  to  make  a  thing  of  it — thus  man 
creates  his  own  soul  as  a  thing.  Without  such  conception 
the  soul  is  formless,  and  there  is  no  permanence  or  reality 
to  its  existence,  i.  e.,  it  takes  any  shape,  according  to  cir¬ 
cumstances  and  conditions.  To  give  form  to  the  soul,  then, 
is  man’s  highest  work.  The  souls  of  vegetation  and 


THE  SOUL. 


115 


animals  have  no  fixed  or  durable  form.  The  same  is  true 
of  some  men. 

All  perfect  forms  are  spherical,  and  the  Rosicrucian  sym¬ 
bol  of  a  winged  globe  is  a  type  of  a  perfected  soul.  Some 
Rosicrucians  claim  that  the  soul  is  located,  or  has  its  equa¬ 
tor,  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach  in  the  solar  and  semi-lunar 
pexus,  with  one  pole  in  the  brain  and  the  other  in  the  sexual 
organs.  This  is  undoubtedly  true  of  a  perfected  soul.  But 
in  its  imperfect  state  it  is  in  every  atom  of  the  body,  and 
cannot  be  withdrawn  therefrom  save  by  death. 

The  lungs  are  the  physical  representation  of  the  soul’s 
wings.  All  flights  of  thought  depend  upon  inspiration — a  * 
breathing  in,  as  it  were,  of  another  atmosphere  from  a 
thought-world.  The  perfect  soul  can  leave  the  body  at 
will,  and  fly  away  to  realms  more  vital  than  this.  But  the 
imperfect  is  held  fast  to  the  atoms  in  which  it  is  anchored 
by  demerit.  The  perfect  soul  and  spirit  can  make  and 
dwell  in  any  kind  of  a  body  it  chooses,  and  dissolve  it  at 
will. 

There  is  a  vivifying  and  vitalizing,  exhilarating  and  exalt¬ 
ing  influence  comes  by  deep  and  protracted  breathing  ;  but 
in  thought  there  is  a  deeper,  broader,  higher,  and  more  pro¬ 
found  exaltation,  because  it  touches  the  sensorium  of  the 
soul  itself.  Breathing  is  physical  ;  thought  is  mental  ;  but 
meditation  is  the  poising  of  the  soul’s  wings  for  flight. 

There  are  some  thoughts  which  take  hold  on  the  filth  of 
hell,  wThich  they  stir  up  to  the  degradation  and  damnation 
of  the  thinker  ;  there  are  other  thoughts  which  elevate  the 
loul  and  exalt  the  thinker.  In  neither  case  does  the  thinker 
go  outside  of  himself  in  his  thought,  albeit  he  imagines 
that  he  does. 

In  order  to  become  an  epitome  of  all,  man  must  pass 
through  all,  which  can  be  done  mentally,  for  the  true  man 
lives  in  his  mind.  He  must  dissect  himself,  and  analyze  all 


110 


THE  SOUL. 


his  passions,  motions,  emotions,  motives,  etc.,  and  master 
them  all.  They  are  the  steps  in  his  ladder  of  progress.  He 
must  begin  at  the  bottom  to  climb.  The  sexual  and  love 
nature  are  at  the  foundation  of  existence.  God  has  so  or¬ 
dered  it  that  man’s  greatest  happiness,  as  well  as  his  great¬ 
est  woes,  spring  from  this  source.  If  there  is  anything  im¬ 
pure  about  it,  it  is  in  the  mind  of  him  who  so  estimates  it. 

Of  all  acts  the  sexual  is  the  most  potent,  for  herein  man 
approaches  the  nearest  to  the  portals  of  Divine  creative 
energy.  Here,  in  the  veiled  temple  of  women’s  body,  God 
baptizes  matter  with  his  Spirit,  and  lo  !  it  becomes  an  im- 
•  mortal  being,  having  in  embryo  all  the  powers  of  God  him¬ 
self.  Is  there  anything  degrading  about  this  ?  The  true 
man  and  woman  love  their  children.  The  great  solace  and 
pride  of  their  lives  are  offspring  ;  they  are  a  result  of  this 
relation,  of  which  we  may  only  speak  in  whispers,  and  over 
which  a  pall  must  be  spread.  As  if  God  has  made  some¬ 
thing  of  which  man  is  ashamed. 

In  this  relation  soul  meets  soul  in  an  ecstatic  blending  of 
Spirits,  and  a  watchful  God  bending  low  from  on  high 
“broods  over  the  Holy  of  Holies  ”  in  the  temple,  and  accepts 
the  sacrifice,  consumed  with  fires  of  love,  and  entering  in, 
is  born  of  woman.  “The  Immaculate  Conception”  is  the 
result  of  a  perfect  union  of  man  and  woman.  The  result¬ 
ing  child  must,  of  necessity,  be  superior  to  the  parents,  for 
such  is  “the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,”  not  of  a 
dead  one ,  for  dead  Gods  produce  half  men  and  women — 
devils  in  human  form.  “We  are  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins.” 

A  virgin  typifies  purity  of  Soul.  “  The  Holy  Ghost”  is 
“  the  Holy  Spirit,”  or  a  pure  Spirit.  Now,  the  union  of 
such  produces  “the  only  begotten  Son  of  God;”  for  God 
cannot  be  incarnated  in  impurity,  save  as  a  progressive 
being.  The  only  way  God  can  be  begotten  of  man,  or  in 


THE  SOUL. 


.117 


man,  is  through  purity.  But  what  is  purity?  What  is 
sin  ?  Disobedience  of  law  is  said  to  be  sin.  Without  law 
there  could  be  no  sin,  for  there  would  be  no  standard,  or  regu¬ 
lator  of  action.  This  is  an  idea  as  true  as  nature,  and  as 
old  as  humanity.  The  writer  of  Genesis  expressed  it  in  an 
allegorical  manner,  or  as  a  fable  or  parable.  Law  is,  after 
all,  only  a  mode  of  action.  But  of  what  action  is  sin  pre¬ 
dicated  ?  Sexual  action  !  Nothing  more,  and  nothing  less. 
-Strange  idea!  And  wherein  is  its  truth?  A  virgin -is  pure; 
but  a  mother — a  fully  developed  woman — one  whose  love- 
nature  has  had  full  expression,  is  impure ! 

I  am  not  one  to  scoff  at  an  idea  hoary  with  age,  which 
has  had  the  respect  and  reverence  of  the  good  and  great 
for  untold  centuries.*  This  vague  legend  or  tradition,  of 
the  fall  of  man,  must  have  a  foundation  in  truth,  for  it 
belongs  to  all  races  and  nations.  And  this  is  also  proven 
by  the  present  condition  of  mankind,  which  I  have  set 
forth  under  the  head  of  The  Unnatukal.  It  is  a  matter 
of  little  or  no  consequence,  hoiv  it  happened,  but  it  is  of 
vital  importance  to  know  wherein  the  fall  consists. 

The  ancients  wrote  allegorically.  The  fundamental 
truths  were  not  for  the  multitude,  hence  they  were  hidden 
away  in  parables,  or  conveyed  in  language  intended  to 
mislead.  All  knowledge  of  value  was  fast  locked  in  the 
temples,  and  taught  only  as  mysteries  to  the  initiated.  But 
in  their  writings  the  truth  is  manifested  occasionally,  espe¬ 
cially  to  him  who  has  “the  keys.”  The  ancient  wise  men, 
seers  and  prophets,  were  deeper  versed  in  the  mysteries  of 
nature  than  we  are,  hence  some  of  them  stood  nearer  to 
God,  and  received  truth  more  in  its  purity  and  simplicity. 

The  fall  of  man  was  the  fall  of  the  soul  from  its  perfect 
spherical  form  to  a  diffused  or  atomic  state.  To  a  perfect 


*See  Chapter  on  Spirituality. 


118 


THE  SOUL. 


soul  the  emotions  are  perfectly  subject  to  the  will,  and  any 
part  of  the  system  may  be  affected  in  any  manner  desired, 
without  the  provocation  of  contact  with  objects.  Before  the 
fall  woman  was  a  subjective  or  spiritual  being  (taken  from 
Adam  while  in  a  trance,  as  I  will  more  fully  explain  here¬ 
after) — a  materialized  spirit,  with  which  Adam  copulated, 
thus  preventing  her  return  to  a  subjective  condition. 

When  the  soul  fell  to  an  atomic  state,  subjective  things 
became  objective,  and  contact  of  things  became  necessary 
to  produce  emotions  of  pleasure  and  pain.  Adam  did  not 
need  the  contact  of  copulation  to  produce  ecstacy,  for  it 
could  be  produced  without — by  will,  and  that  without  waste 
of  virility.  And  the  command  was  that  he  should  not  cop¬ 
ulate.  Such,  evidently,  were  the  views  of  the  ancient  phil¬ 
osophers,  as  I  will  try  to  explain  further  on. 

The  scientific  world  is  mad  with  evolutionism.  Daewin 
has  sunk  modern  thought  low  down  in  the  mud  !  Proto¬ 
plasm  is  God  !  It  appears  to  sense  that  out  of  mud  come 
flowers  and  fruits.  This  appearance,  however,  is  the  same 
as  that  the  sun  rises  and  sets — the  earth  flat,  etc.  It  is  a 
delusion.  That  which  appears  is  not  the  whole  truth  ;  the 
most  vital  truths  do  not  appear  to  observation.  A  plant  or 
tree  grows  up  out  of  the  mud,  but  the  flowers  and  fruits 
descend.  There  is  a  descent  as  well  as  an  ascent ,  and  at 
the  point  of  union  there  is  generation.  This  is  nature’s 
copulation.  Plants,  flowers,  fruits,  living  things,  eyes,  ears, 
thought  and  feeling,  do  not  ascend  out  of  the  ground,  any 
more  than  the  stars  or  the  sun-light  does.  There  is  a  mys¬ 
tery  connected  with  all  things  which  is  insoluble,  and  the 
ancients  deserve  as  much  respect  for  their  effort  to  explain 
it  as  Daewin  and  Huxley. 

Man  grew,  and  still  grows,  as  plants  and  animals  do  ;  but 
who  knows  how  they  come,  or  from  whence  ?  If  thought 
lies  perdu  in  the  mud  (as  a  flower),  is  it  any  less  an  unfath- 


THE  SOUL. 


119 


omable  mystery,  or  any  less  worthy  of  adoration  than  if  it 
be  enthroned  in  the  stars  or  in  a  God  ?  It  is  just  as  logical 
to  suppose  that  sense  makes  the  mind  as  that  mind  evolves 
sense.  In  view  of  these  things,  I  turn  to  Plato,  Socrates, 
Pythagoras,  Gautama,  Appolonius,  Jesus,  Zoroaster, 
Hermes,  Moses  and  God,  for  my  inspiration. 

Realizing  that  inspiration  is  as  potent  now  as  of  old,  I 
ask  Jesus  and  Appolonius  if  disease  and  death  are  not  a  de¬ 
lusion  of  sense.  They  answer,  “They  are  !”  Far  away  in 
the  dim  and  shadowy  past  some  one  conceived  an  idea,  and 
wrote  that  God  said:  “In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die.”  Is  it  not  true?  Is  this  life ?  If  so,  I  do 
not  want  more  of  it  !  But  this  is  more  death  than  life.  The 
loftiest  mind  has  not  yet  conceived  of  real  life.  This  is, 
indeed,  one  long-drawn  sigh  of  anguish  ;  a  mad  dance  of 
demons  !  A  scramble  and  a  rush  after  toys.  If  this  is  life, 
and  all  of  it,  then,  indeed,  is  God  or  nature  a  demon,  en¬ 
acting  an  awful  tragedy,  for  ’tis  worse  than  a  farce. 

Man  dies  for  lack  of  vitality,  which,  indeed,  is  virility, 
and  virility  springs  from  love,  wherein  it  is  generated.  So 
all  diseases,  pains,  and  death  itself,  spring  from  an  abnor¬ 
mal,  or  unnatural  action  of  love,  or  the  sexual  nature.  Un¬ 
doubtedly  the  ancients  understood  the  “  fall  of  man”  to  be 
a  fall  of  the  blood.  The  laws  of  Moses  support  this  con¬ 
clusion.  The  rite  of  circumcision — the  rites  of  purification 
— the  sacrifices  with  fire ,  and  the  shedding  of  blood ,  and 
the  obscure  narratives  of  the  old  Testament  show  that  they 
considered  sin  as  sexual.  The  same  idea  seems  to  have 
been  entertained  by  Jesus,  for  he  said:  “Woe  unto  you,” 
etc.,  “verily  I  say  unto  you  the  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom 
before  you.”  Why  were  harlots  named  instead  of  other 
criminal  classes? 

And  again:  “Some  men  are  born  eunuchs;  others  are 
made  so  by  men;  others  make  eunuchs  of  themselves  for 


120 


THE  SOUL. 


the  kingdom  of  heaven’s  sake.”  This,  when  rightly  under¬ 
stood,  does  not  mean  castration.  The  Buddhist  priest  who 
has  attained  the  power  of  “Irdhi,”  (the  power  of  levitation, 
of  walking  npon  the  water,  or  of  passing  through  the  air, 
or  of  visiting  at  will  any  of  “  the  three  worlds,”  or  “  the 
Brahma  Lokas,”)  has  no  sexual  desires  at  all,  and  is  as 
incompetent  as  an  eunuch;  but  he  has  all  his  organs  per¬ 
fect.  He  has,  by  a  certain  course  of  training,  turned  his 
virility  upward  and  inward,  instead  of  allowing  it  to  flow 
downward,  and  outward,  in  the  commission  of  what  St. 
John  calls  sin. 

Turn  to  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  iii,  9,  and  you  will  find 
the  real  definition  of  sin,  “Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not 
commit  sin ;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him,  and  he  cannot 
sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God.”  Loss  of  virility,  then, 
must  be  sin.  The  first  sin!  The  monster  sin  of  the  world! 
out  of  which  all  others  flow — as  water  from  a  fountain. 
Connect  this  with  Gen.  iii,  11:  “I  will  put  enmity  between 
thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ; 
it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  (?) 
heel.”  (Heel  here  means  something  else.)  The  word  “  his” 
here  means  her ,  (It  has  not  yet  been  settled  what  the 
serpent  here  spoken  to  means.  Theology  calls  it  “the 
devil;”  but  the  serpent  is  the  symbol  of  wisdom.)  Seed 
here  spoken  of  must  mean  the  same  spoken  of  by  John,  for 
the  bruising  of  it  is  all  too  apparent  in  all  the  hospitals  and 
medical  museums  of  the  world. 

Bead  God’s  admonition  of  Cain  prior  to  the  murder  of 
Abel:  “If  thou  doest  well  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted?  and 
if  thou  doest  not  well  sin  lieth  at  thy  door,  and  unto  thee 
shall  be  his  desire,  and  thou  shalt  rule  over  him.”  Strange 
language  to  use  in  order  to  deter  one  from  doing  w'rong,  to 
tell  him  he  should  become  ruler  by  sinning.  “  Onan”  was 
slain  by  the  Lord  because  sin  lay  at  his  door — i.  e.,  wasted 


THE  SOUL. 


121 


(Genesis  xxxviii,  11).  What  is  a  door  but  a  place  of 
egress  ?  Let  him  who  reads  think.  But  we  are  not  depen¬ 
dent  upon  the  Bible  and  conjecture  for  what  we  believe 
upon  this  subject.  Buddhism,  five  hundred  years  older 
than  Christianity,  numbering  369,000,000  adherents,  con¬ 
taining  all  the  principles  that  Jesus  taught,  and  much  more, 
teaching  the  way  to  supernatural  powTer  and  “  Nirwana,”  is 
sexual  from  the  first  to  last.  All  birth  is  sexual,  hence 
“  the  second  birth”  spoken  of  by  Jesus  must  have  reference 
thereto. 

The  curse  put  upon  the  woman:  “  I  will  greatly  multiply 
thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception ,”  was  a  sexual  penalty,  show¬ 
ing  that  “the  fall”  was  a  fall  of  the  blood;  and  as  if 
in  corroboration  of  this  idea,  nature  weeps  tears  of  blood 
periodically  from  the  mysterious  recesses  of  woman’s  body. 
Woman,  of  all  God’s  creatures,  is  the  only  one  so  accursed. 
The  atonement  is  of  blood  and  of  love.  Through  woman 
came  the  fall,  and  through  the  virgin  soul  must  come 
immortality.  Salvation  is  woman’s  work. 

By  the  shattering  of  the  soul  into  atoms,  it  lost  control 
of  the  vital  essences,  nerve  aura,  or  fire  of  the  body;  hence 
man  fell  under  the  control  of  his  passions,  and  love  became 
inverted.  Hence  man  is  the  reverse  of  what  he  primarily 
wras,  and  disease  takes  the  place  of  that  divine  ecstacy 
wrhich  is  his  heritage.  “  The  sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited 
upon  the  children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation.”  No 
sins  but  those  of  the  blood  are  so  visited.  Love  is  the  life 
of  the  blood,  hence  in  the  Scriptures  blood  typifies  love. 
The  blood  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  lamb,  and  of  the  atone¬ 
ment,  all  refer  to  love.  Man’s  passions  are  not  love,  but 
its  lowest  expression — its  inverted  expression. 

To  attain  to  liie  and  love  in  its  purity  the  foundations  of 
God’s  Temple — man — must  not  be  rotten.  If  rotten,  it 
must  be  made  new.  How  Herculean  the  task!  How  gigan- 


122 


THE  SOUL. 


tic  the  work!  No  wonder  Jesus  said  :  “Except  a  man  be 
born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God  !”  None  bnt 
a  God  could  reveal  these  things  of  the  soul  to  man  ! 

As  1  said  before,  I  say  again:  Meditation  is  the  poising 
of  the  wings  of  the  soul  for  flight,  and  the  most  potent 
meditation  is  that  wherein  passions  are  crucified.  Man  is 
an  angular  being,  and  in  order  to  attain  perfection  these 
angles  and  triangles  must  be  worn  off.  Your  character  and 
disposition  (not  your  reputation)  is  indicative  of  the  form  of 
your  soul. 

The  man  who  revolves  through  life,  like  a  jagged  rock — 
crashing,  knocking,  bumping,  grinding,  flaying,  and  demol¬ 
ishing  objects  that  stand  in  his  way,  is  far  from  being  a  true 
soul.  True,  he  may  get  the  angles  knocked  off  ere  he  gets 
through  his  journey;  but  the  journey  of  the  soul  is  infinite, 
and  it  takes  countless  ages  of  experience  to  round  out  a 
soul  to  a  durable  and  permanent  form,  and  then,  when  all 
the  angles  and  corners  are  chipped  off,  it  may  be  a  very 
small  thing,  scarcely  possessing  any  consciousness  at  all. 
But  whatever  its  size  may  be — provided  it  is  not  a  monad — 
it  retains  its  form,  and  in  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  increase 
of  consciousness,  the  dim  past  becomes  more  and  more  vivid 
and  real,  till  at  last  all  previous  stages  of  existence  become 
a  matter  of  memory.  In  whatever  form  it  may  be  impris¬ 
oned,  the  character  manifested  will  be  harmonious  and 
peaceful.  The  true  rounding  off  of  angles  is  done  by  the 
chisel  of  thought  from  within.  We  are  the  architects  of 
our  own  selves.  We  build  by  our  thoughts  and  acts  the 
temples  or  hovels  we  inhabit.  Some,  indeed,  live  in  caverns, 
or,  reptile-like,  in  holes  in  the  ground.  Some  inhabit  the 
great  deep,  and  lie  in  the  slime  at  its  bottom. 

Soul  orbits  differ  as  the  orbits  of  the  planets ;  hence  the 
ages  of  souls  are  not  alike.  Some  revolve  in  small  orbits  ; 
they  make  a  revolution  with  great  rapidity.  Others,  again, 


THE  SOUL. 


123 


revolve  in  orbits  so  vast  that  millions  of  ages  are  as  a  sec¬ 
ond  of  time,  or  a  degree  of  distance  as  from  one  universe 
to  another.  Stations  there  are  on  the  way  of  the  soul, 
where  rest  is  taken,  and  new  forms  made  ;  mysteries  ex¬ 
plored  ;  other  laws  learned,  and  the  soul  enlarged. 

There  is  no  end  save  to  weakness;  the  downward  termi¬ 
nates  at  the  centre,  where  no  forms  exist — the  above  has  no 
limits — universe  after  universe  stretches  away  illimitable. 
Sense  makes  boundaries  ;  but  soul  overleaps  or  breaks  down 
all  barriers.  A  mere  creature  here  !  A  nothing,  to  be  scoffed 
at,  doubted,  and  destroyed  by  sin,  it  becomes  in  its  flight 
stronger  and  stronger,  larger  and  larger,  till  it  becomes  a 
creator  and  governor  of  worlds,  and  the  architect  of  uni¬ 
verses  and  of  other  souls. 

We  are  merely  halted  here  on  our  eternal  voyage  to  learn 
of  this  peculiar  nature — to  master  its  secrets  and  mysteries. 
When  we  have  done  so,  we  will  go  on  our  way.  Some  souls 
are  older  than  others  ;  but  no  soul  can  leave  this  earth  un¬ 
fledged.  You  cannot  leave  till  you  have  learned  all  that  is 
to  be  known  of  it,  and  mastered  all  its  creative  forces  and 
laws. 

True,  we  have  a  rest  occasionally,  of  a  few  thousand 
years,  in  some  of  the  heavens  or  hells  of  spirit-land  or  the 
GoD-worlds,  from  which  return  is  not  only  possible  but  cer¬ 
tain  ;  not  merely  to  communicate,  but  to  be  re-incarnated. 
We  sometimes  leave  our  bodies  in  deep  sleep,  and  visit 
strange  places,  see  strange  faces,  and  learn  many  new 
things,  which  we  bring  back  in  part  to  our  waking  state. 
W aking  state  ?  Indeed  !  The  real  waking,  conscious,  living 
state  is  when  this  physical  is  in  a  deeper  sleep  than  the 
deepest  trance.  The  more  globular  the  soul  is,  the  more 
easily  it  may  detach  itself  from  the  atoms  first,  and  then 
and  lastly  from  the  body.  This  detaching  is  a  drawing  to- 


124 


THE  SOUL. 


getlier,  or  contraction,  or  abstraction  of  itself,  in  which  is 
health. 

Sleep  is  better  than  medicine.  The  cause  of  disease  is 
the  close  relation,  or  contact  of  the  soul  to  the  atoms  of  the 
body.  The  withdrawal  of  the  soul  permits  the  spirit  to 
enter  any  diseased  paid  and  restore  it.  The  soul  is  foreign 
to  nature,  and  its  imprisonment  therein  corrupts  nature.  It 
abhors  nature  as  much  as  nature  abhors  it,  and  it  is  bound 
to  get  out  of  it,  in  one  way  or  another — either  by  growth  or 
decay,  or  by  both. 

From  my  boyhood  I  studied  and  practiced  phrenology, 
and  studied  myself  closely.  Wishing  to  make  the  most  of 
a  defective  organization,  I  strove  to  cultivate  myself  to  the 
utmost  of  my  abilities.  But  knowing  my  many  defects,  I 
felt  often  discouraged  and  dissatisfied  with  myself.  One 
night,  in  deep  sleep,  I  was  outside  of  my  body.  There  it 
lay  before  me,  a  mere  lump  of  plastic  clay.  I  said  :  Oh, 
you  defective  thing  !  If  I  had  had  the  making  of  you,  I 
would  have  made  that  head  far  different.  A  voice  said  : 
“Fix  it  over  to  suit  yourself.”  I  immediately  went  to  work 
upon  the  plastic  head,  and  moulded  it  to  my  notion,  and 
then  got  into  my  body  and  tried  it  on.  It  did  not  suit  me. 
Again  I  got  out  and  remodeled  it,  with  the  same  result. 
Time  after  time  I  essayed  to  make  it  over  to  my  notion,  but 
without  success,  till  at  last  the  head  was  all  out  of  shape  ; 
in  fact,  it  was  no  longer  human.  And  the  joke  of  it  was 
that  I  could  not  get  it  back  to  its  original  shape.  In  my 
perplexity  the  voice  said  :  “Trust  in  creative  power  !  Make 
the  best  use  you  can  of  your  head,  and  by  and  by  you  will 
have  a  better  one.”  Then  I  awoke,  and  since  then  I  am 
content  to  work  and  wait  in  harmony  with  nature,  and  not 
find  fault. 

Some  of  us,  at  least,  are  double  at  times.  Nature  is  not 
partial  to  individuals.  The  way  to  power  is  open  to  all. 


THE  SOUL. 


125 


“  Many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen  !  ”  Why  ?  because  few 
choose  to  struggle  up  the  stream,  when  it  is  so  easy  to  float, 
like  drift-wood,  downward. 

To  crucify  the  loves  is  a  superhuman  task,  and  so  repug¬ 
nant  to  man’s  everyday  life  and  thought  that  most  men  will 
turn  aside  from  my  book  in  disgust  and  contempt;  and  yet 
there  is  so  much  talk  in  the  churches  about  “taking  up  the 
cross  !”  Alas  for  unbelief  ! 

Whence  comes  the  celibacy  of  the  Catholic  priesthood  ; 
the  asceticism  of  India,  and  the  peculiar  tenets  of  the 
Essenes? — amongst  whom,  it  is  said,  Jesus  was  “devel¬ 
oped.”  They  did  not  marry,  and  held  property  in  common, 
as  did  the  early  Christians.  They  held,  as  we  of  the  Rose 
Ckoss  hold  to-day,  that  marriage,  as  now  understood  and 
practiced,  is  unnatural.  The  asceticism  of  Catholicism,  if 
it  was  not  borrowed  from  Buddhism,  is  synonymous  with  it, 
which  existed  long  before  Gautama’s  time,  who  lived  five 
hundred  years  before  Christ.  But  no  matter  how  old  ascet¬ 
icism  may  be,  or  how  much  it  may  have  been  practiced,  or 
how  much  spiritual  powTer  may  be  attained  thereby,  it  is  the 
exoteric  of  religious  ideas,  as  much  so  as  any  of  the  forms 
and  ceremonies.  The  esoteric  has  never  been,  and  never 
will  be,  given  to  any  but  the  initiated.  It  is  the  much- 
talked-of  “Philosopher’s  Stone,”  and  “Elixir  of  Life” — 
the  least  of  all  known.  This  subject,  however  tedious  it 
may  be,  is  intimately  connected  with  the  soul,  for  it  is  the 
soul  of  Rosicrucia,  as  well  as  all  religious  systems.  It  is 
not  asceticism  which  gives  purity  —it  is  only  a  method  for 
its  attainment.  It  is  from  the  thought  that  ali  things  come. 

“Not  that  which  goeth  in  at  the  mouth  defileth  a  man, 
but  that  which  goeth  out.”  Sin  defiles,  for  it  “layeth  at 
the  door.”  The  greatest  sin  a  man  can  commit  is  the 
waste  of  the  life  a  good  and  beneficent  Creator  has  given 
him  for  his  use,  and  not  abuse.  Promiscuity  is  a  mockery 


126 


THE  SOUL. 


of  God.  Tlie  awful  diseases  that  spring  from  it  show  the 
nature  of  the  sin  committed — its  defilement ,  and  its  curse. 
As  the  very  ground  withholds  its  rest,  peace  and  strength 
from  a  murderer — as  God  said  it  should  from  Cain — so 
woman  withholds  her  spirit  from  the  debaucher. 

The  painful  or  pleasurable  action  of  any  part  of  the  sys¬ 
tem  is  due  to  the  presence  of  the  soul  in  that  part.  If  the 
soul  be  withdrawn  from  any  part,  that  part  has  no  sensa¬ 
tion,  and  the  spirit,  taking  the  place  of  the  absent  soul, 
builds  anew  the  part  afflicted.  If  the  spirit  be  overcome  by 
a  strong  magnetizer,  and  the  soul  thus  driven  back,  repelled 
or  forced  out,  the  body  has  no  sensation,  and  amputation  or 
other  painful  surgical  operations  may  be  performed  with¬ 
out  the  subject  being  aware  of  it.  This  fact  is  well 
authenticated. 

This  power  of  withdrawal  of  the  soul  resides  in  every  one 
who  has  a  will.  It  does  not  depend  upon  the  magnetizer 
at  all,  but  upon  the  well-regulated  action  of  the  will.  Self¬ 
magnetization  is  a  well-known  fact  among  Spiritualists,  and 
practiced  by  all  mediums  to  a  certain  extent.  But  it  is  too 
limited  to  be  productive  of  the  results  above  spoken  of. 
Paralysis  is  the  obstruction — through  insulation — of  the 
spirit  in  its  free  passage  through  the  system.  The  soul  is 
left  alone  in  a  paralyzed  body  or  limb,  without  the  spirit  to 
give  life  and  power — as  all  power  depends  upon  movements 
of  spirit,  wdiich  is  effected  by  its  union  with  the  soul. 
Mind  is  merely  the  connecting  link  between  the  twro.  The 
partial  withdrawal  of  the  soul  is  indicated  by  vibratory 
motions  in  the  nerves,  which,  being  extended,  produces 
ecstacy,  then  trance,  or  insensibility.  Those  who  follow 
sitting  in  circles  are  aware  of  this. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  progression  and  retrogression, 
as  balancing  eacb  other  in  motion.  The  symbol  of  the 
Cross  in  a  circle  is  illustrative  of  this.  The  upright,  or 
“  Phallus,”  indicates  the  law  of  progress;  the  horizontal  line 
the  cross  of  the  laic — retrogression,  or  the  fall  of  man;  while 
the  circle  is  the  sigma  of  eternity,  or  of  revolution.  Man, 
in  growth  and  decay,  is  simply  matter  in  motion,  and  he 
must  conform  to  the  laws  of  motion;  i.  e.,  he  revolves  in  an 
orbit,  as  worlds  do. 

All  life  is  one ;  man  differs  from  the  animals  only  in  form 
and  the  amount  of  life  and  mind  he  embodies.  Life  has 
no  beginning  nor  end;  but  forms  begin,  grow,  decay,  and 
end.  The  law  that  governs  one  form  governs  all.  Forms 
are  not  progressive  to  any  great  extent,  but  mind  is. 

Consciousness  is  the  highest  manifestation  of  life.  Man 
and  animals  both  exist  after  death,  for  power  cannot  die. 
It  takes  ages  for  matter  to  progress  up  to  a  form  perfect  enough 
to  manifest  consciousness  and  thought;  so  it  takes  ages  for 
it  to  retrograde  to  a  loss  of  it.  Even  form  does  not  change 
suddenly;  death  itself  is  powerless  to  effect  any  material 
change  in  the  form;  but  the  rough  garment  of  the  soul 
merely  is  cast  aside  by  death,  and  the  spiritual  body  is 
immediately  formed — fashioned  in  the  mould  of  the  mortal 
body.  But  this  body,  being  like  the  natural  body,  com¬ 
posed  of  spirit  condensed,  is  subject  to  the  law  of  vastation 


128 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


in  the  spiritual  worlds,  the  same  as  here.  Consequently 
the  form  changes,  as  the  soul  comes  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  union  with  spirit.  As  a  man  is  here,  so  he  will  com¬ 
mence  on  the  other  side.  If  he  is  progressive  here,  he 
continues  to  progress  till  the  merit  he  has  acquired  in  this 
life  is  exhausted,  then  he  will  commence  retrograding.  If 
he  is  retrograding  here,  he  will  continue  on  the  other  side, 
till  he  reaches,  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  perhaps,  a  state  of 
unconsciousness  in  which  he  is  re-incarnated  in  some  other 
form. 

Life  is  like  the  revolutions  of  a  wheel;  or  as  the  succes¬ 
sion  of  the  seasons ;  or  as  day  and  night.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  existence  without  change;  and  change  is  alterna¬ 
tion,  as  a  rising  up  and  a  falling  down;  though  in  cycles 
both  vast  and  small.  Repugnant  as  these  ideas  may  be  to 
modern  taste,  they  are  certainly  based  in  logic ;  and  if  age 
gives  any  prestige  to  anything,  this  must  take  the  precedent, 
for  the  transmigration  of  the  soul  is  the  oldest  religion 
known  to  man. 

Upon  the  tombs  of  ancient  Egypt  there  is  sculptured  in 
the  rock  a  picture  of  Osiris  seated  on  a  throne,  and  human 
beings  ascending  upon  a  stairway  to  him.  In  front  of  him 
they  seem  to  divide.  Those  on  the  right  still  retain  the 
human  form,  but  those  on  the  left  are  animals.  Further¬ 
more,  there  are  more  people  in  existence  who  entertain  this 
belief  than  otherwise.  If  you  read  our  Bible,  you  will  see 
that  the  Jews  believed  in  it;  and  Jesus  also.  (Mark.ix, 
11,  12,  13.)  Also  see  Matthew  xvii,  10,  11,  12,  13,  and 
xvi,  13,  14;  also  xiv,  2,  3. 

Now  for  the  logic  of  it :  An  eternal  existence,  based  upon 
the  pleasure  of  a  changeable  God,  is  too  absurd  to  think  of, 
but  all  Christendom  holds  to  such  a  view.  A  beginning 
proves  an  end.  This  we  show  to  be  an  illusion  of  sense  • 
for  a  beginning  is  only  apparently  so  as  regards  the  life, 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


129 


while  it  is  really  so  in  reference  to  the  form.  You  had  an 
existence  as  an  infant,  but  no  recollection  of  it.  You  also 
existed  in  utero,  but  the  mode  of  that  existence  was  alto¬ 
gether  different  from  life  since  your  birth.  You  also  had 
an  existence  as  a  spermatozoa,  and  swam  around  in  a  drop 
of  semen  as  a  whale  does  in  the  ocean,  and  fought  with  and 
destroyed  other  spermatozoa  weaker  than  yourself.  It  took 
a  microscope  to  see  you  then,  but  you  were  a  conscious,  liv¬ 
ing  being,  having  the  power  of  volition. 

Beyond  this,  science  cannot  follow  you.  But  we  can 
reasonably  believe  that  you  existed  in  an  unconscious  state 
in  your  father’s  veins;  and  wTho  can  know  you  were  not  con¬ 
scious  even  then?  Shall  we  assume  to  deny  it,  because,  in 
our  ignorance,  we  are  unable  to  find  you  ?  Is  not  the  air 
full  of  infinitesimal  life,  that  we  know  nothing  of  ?  We 
know  that  you,  as  a  spermatozoa,  died  in  the  womb  before 
you  became  a  child.  Who  knows  that  you  had  not  just 
died  before  you  became  a  spermatozoa  ?  And  who  knows 
but  that  you  might  have  been  butchered,  as  a  lamb,  a  little 
while  before  ? 

What  is  all  this  life  for  which  swarms  in  the  air,  and 
walks  upon  the  land,  or  swims  in  the  sea  ?  Was  it  created 
as  a  mere  pastime  for  man’s  benefit  ?  Or,  is  it  not  more 
reasonable  to  think  that  it  is  all  rushing  upward  towards 
perfection  ? — the  fittest  going  up  and  the  unfit  going  down. 
Darwin  shows  the  law  of  “ Natural  Selection.”  Man  !  proud 
and  haughty  egotist  that  thou  art,  Nature  thinks  as  much 
of  a  mosquito  as  she  does  of  you  !  You  gestate  in  water 
the  same,  and  go  out  of  life  in  like  manner  as  a  mosquito 
does.  But  you  make  a  greater  fuss  about  it.  Arrogate 
nothing  to  yourself  because  you  are  a  little  higher  than  the 
poor,  patient,  dumb  brute  you  drive.  Treat  them  kindly, 
for  you  know  not  how  soon  they  may  become  human,  and 
pay  you  in  your  own  coin  for  your  brutality. 


130 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


“Thou  shalt  not  kill,”  was  written  upon  Mount  Sinai  by 
one  who  knew  what  he  was  about.  The  Rahats  of  Buddhism 
are  not  allowed  to  knowingly  tread  upon  a  worm,  or  to 
take  any  life  whatever.  We  are  all  related,  and  anon  change 
places  with  each  other  in  the  revolutions  of  the  great  wheel 
of  Infinite  Power.  We  know  not  the  effects  of  violence 
and  bloodshed  upon  ourselves  and  others. 

Note  the  changes  of  form  and  feature  from  infancy  to 
old  age,  and  see  how  many  times  the  Identity  is  lost  in  a 
few  short  years — lost  to  all  save  yourself  and  those  in  con¬ 
stant  association.  The  slowness  of  the  change  makes  no 
difference  in  fact.  How  often  it  is  said  of  one  returned 
after  an  absence  of  a  few  years,  “Why,  how  you  have 
changed  !  I  hardly  know  you  !”  Think  you  those  changes 
will  cease  at  death  ?  I  do  not. 

It  is  the  desire  of  every  man  who  believes  in  immortality, 
to  retain  consciousness  and  identity.  We  are  rather  in 
hopes  that  we  will  lose  some  traits — those  which  we  despise  ; 
but  we  would  scarcely  desire  to  be  something  else  after 
death,  unless  we  could  be  more  God-like.  This  much- 
talked-of  identity  is  but  little  understood.  I  am  not  the 
same  person  I  was  forty  years  ago,  no  more  than  one  wave 
on  the  ocean  remains  the  same  till  it  is  beaten  upon  the 
shore.  As  wave  flows  into  wave,  so  life  passes  into  forms 
of  matter.  A  ripple  here  and  a  wave  there  ;  a  tempest  here 
and  a  calm  there.  Such  is  life  !  The  great  wave  sinks  into 
the  small  one,  or  rises  into  the  large  one  ;  but  whether  great 
or  small,  the  calm  levels  all 

The  soul  has  power  to  identify  itself  according  to  its 
consciousness  of  what  it  has  been.  It  identifies  itself  in 
many  ways,  by  looks,  acts,  or  by  the  narration  of  incidents 
fresh  in  the  memory  of  both.  But  if  memory  is  lost,  and 
the  form  has  changed,  what  good  is  there  in  identification, 
even  were  it  possible?  which  it  is  not.  I  feel  that  I  am  the 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


131 


same  being  I  formerly  was,  because  I  remember  the  long 
ago — there  has  been  one  continuous  chain  of  events  that 
have  gradually  borne  me  along — there  has  been  no  great 
shock  or  disconnection  of  the  current  ;  but  a  shock  some¬ 
times  interrupts  the  continuity  of  things.  Especially  is  this 
true  in  regard  to  memory.  The  most  valuable  things  are 
the  easiest  disturbed  and  destroyed — as  we  understand  de¬ 
struction. 

How  weak,  and  yet  how  subtile  and  strong  is  memory  ! 
The  past,  with  its  multitudinous  experiences,  sights,  acts, 
sounds,  etc.,  fails  to  keep  along  with  us.  They  drop  out 
by  the  way,  as  one  wearied  falls  down  to  rest,  and  we  look 
around  at  the  end  of  the  journey  for  the  companions  of  the 
way,  and  are  surprised  at  the  smallness  of  the  number  we 
see.  And  even  those  that  keep  the  closest  to  us,  are  the 
hideous  ones  we  would  most  gladly  have  left  behind.  Per¬ 
haps  we  have  taken  extra  pains  to  outrun  or  to  evade  some 
of  them — but  memory  drags  them  along  with  almost  super¬ 
natural  power. 

The  greater  part  of  our  life  is  made  up  of  indifferent  acts 
of  which  we  take  no  note,  and  which  make  little  or  no  im¬ 
pression  on  memory’s  page,  but  the  great  events  stamp 
themselves  ineffaceably  upon  the  soul.  Memory  being,  then, 
the  means  whereby  existence  continues  in  the  conscious¬ 
ness,  its  culture  becomes  of  paramount  importance,  as  re¬ 
gards  identification.  Memory  is  the  soul  of  genius.  We 
do  not  know  but  that  the  thoughts  of  the  mind  are  half 
forgotten  memories  of  previous  existences  !  And  Intuition 
may  be  but  a  perception  of  the  past  and  future,  in  which 
we  have  always  been  as  now.  Our  past  lives  are  as  a  half 
forgotten  dream.  Some  little  thing  calls  it  up,  as  from  the 
deep,  more  or  less  vividly  to  our  consciousness. 

There  are  some  things  which  destroy  memory  ;  so,  also, 
there  is  a  way  of  cultivating  or  of  increasing  its  power. 


132 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


The  opening  of  the  mind  to  what  has  been  is  culture  of 
memory  ;  the  closing  of  the  mind  to  that  which  has  been 
is  the  decay  and  loss  of  memory. 

Memory  is  the  outward  or  material  part  of  consciousness, 
as  the  body  is  the  outward  of  mind.  Hence,  to  increase  in 
consciousness  and  soul-power  is  to  expand  the  memory  or 
the  inmost  of  mind — the  sensorium.  Action  is  expansive , 
but  inaction  is  contractive. 

Bear  in  mind,  now,  that  by  action  I  do  not  mean  physical 
or  mental  action,  but  soul  action.  The  soul  is  the  principle 
of  all  existence,  and  is  the  cause  of  all  action  ;  but  its  first 
action  is  the  evolution  of  a  principle  which  is  the  governing 
motive  or  power  of  every  act.  The  motive  is  the  life  of  an 
act.  Motives  are  dual — good  and  bad.  The  absence  of  a 
good  motive  leaves  the  act  deficient  of  its  life  or  expansive 
power.  Hence,  the  absence  of  good  is  the  evil,  which  is 
contractive.  The  absence  of  strength  is  weakness ;  of  sight, 
blindness;  of  intelligence,  ignorance,  etc.  That  which 
increases  power  is  good ,  for  it  leads  up  to  God.  Good  is 
the  only  absoluteness  of  mind — for,  as  I  said  before,  it  is 
our  estimate— which  descending  into  acts  related  to  other 
acts,  becomes  a  relative  good,  i.  e.,  partly  good  and  partly 
evil;  for  it  may  be  good  for  some,  but  evil  for  others. 
Good,  then,  which  is  the  least  harmful  to  others,  must  be 
the  nearest  approach  to  absoluteness,  and  thus  to  the 
truth. 

There  comes  from  motives  a  certain  quality  which  they 
impart  to  every  act;  and  as  acts  are  graded  from  low  to 
high,  so  does  quality  vary.  Now,  the  good  of  an  act  is 
meritorious,  but  the  evil  is  not,  and  it  imparts  another 
quality  to  spirit,  called  Demerit.  For  spirit  is  action;  and 
the  motive  of  the  act  is  its  spirit — or  the  quality  thereof. 

Spirit  is  graded  from  the  purest  white ,  through  all  grades 
of  color  down  to  the  lowest  black.  The  darker  the  spirit 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


133 


the  more  inert  it  is,  for  power  resides  in  spirit  according  to 
its  color.  It  is  the  merit  of  an  act  which  gives  spirit  its 
purity  of  color,  but  the  demerit  of  it  saddens  the  color  of 
spirit  and  thus  destroys  its  buoyancy.  Merit  is  the  con- 
centrative  power  of  spirit,  for  it  draws  all  the  colors  together 
as  in  a  focus,  or  prism  of  white  light,  or  oneness;  but 
demerit  is  a  downward  action  towards  matter — a  scattering 
or  refraction  of  rays — as  of  many  from  one  in  which  colors 
appear — and  power  disappears  in  the  falling  of  it,  or  in  its 
diffusion. 

Principle  is  merit,  but  the  absence  of  principle  is  demerit. 
Now,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what  a  principle  is,  in  order  to 
a  comprehension  of  this  recondite  subject.  A  principle  is  a 
union  of  the  two  highest  mental  attributes  into  one  spirit. 
Thus,  Love  and  Will  united  are  good ,  if  they  unite  in 
truth,  and  they  cannot  unite  in  anything  else;  for  that 
which  is  false  is  at  variance — as  a  division.  Truth  unites, 
but  falsehood  dissevers.  The  soul  of  merit  is  the  love  of 
truth ,  and  truth  is.  freedom.  Thus  is  merit  expansive  of 
the  Soul’s  consciousness,  but  contractive  of  the  mind. 
Demerit  springs  from  a  want  of  love  of  truth,  and  is  a  dis¬ 
union  of  love  and  will,  hence,  is  void  of  principle.  In  dis¬ 
union  there  are  differences,  which  lead  to  aggressive  acts — 
or  acts  against  freedom. 

Aggression  is  the  soul  of  demerit.  The  object  or  motive 
of  an  act  gives  merit,  provided  the  object  be  for  the  good 
of  others.  There  is  merit  in  all  love,  of  whatever  name  or 
nature,  and  it  is  this  that  supports  life.  But  there  is 
demerit  in  hate  and  revenge,  and  all  passions  which  confer 
no  good  upon  self  or  upon  others,  and  this  it  is  that 
shortens  life,  and  makes  it  a  continual  agitation,  and  a 
death  in  life. 

The  expansion  of  consciousness  is  due  to  merit,  but  the 
contraction  of  it  to  demerit.  In  the  expansion  of  conscious- 


134 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


ness  the  soul  transcends  mere  mind,  and  one  becomes  con¬ 
scious  of  a  truth,  even  without  a  reason  for  it.  Thus,  the 
past  and  future  rise  up  in  the  mind  in  symbols,  or  impress 
themselves  as  a  sensation  or  feeling.  The  spirit-worlds  may 
be  reached  in  this  way  without  trance  or  objective  vision.  It 
is  a  conscious  contact  of  minds,  things  and  principles. 
Consciousness  meets  consciousness  in  this  expansion,  and 
the  conditions  of  any  state  of  being  may  be  known.  It  is 
a  ready  reader  of  character,  motives,  capacities,  past  and 
future  events,  etc.,  etc.  But  the  small  consciousness  is  con¬ 
fined  and  limited  by  demerit — it  reaches  little  or  nothing 
beyond  itself. 

Merit  is  acquired  by  acts  of  love ;  it  sets  the  spirit  free. 
Freedom  is  life  and  joy.  I  am  aware  that  some  claim  there 
is  no  freedom  of  action,  and  consequently  no  merit  or  de¬ 
merit  therein.  But  we  know  better. 

Now,  how,  or  in  what  manner  does  spirit  rise  or  become 
luminous  by  merit  ?  The  spirit  has  the  power  to  extract  life 
from  all  substance  or  spirit,  with  which  it  comes  in  contact, 
as  it  radiates  in  space  from  the  body,  and  merit  is  that 
which  increases  this  power  of  absorption  or  appropriation, 
while  demerit  destroys  that  power.  Merit  eliminates  the 
tenacity  or  clingingness  of  spirit,  by  reason  of  which  it  is 
held  to  the  surface  of  things  ;  thus  giving  it  power  to  pen¬ 
etrate  deeper  into  the  inner  essence  or  spirit  of  substance, 
and  to  extract  the  finer  essences  thereof.  Merit  increases 
the  radius  of  spirit  in  this  manner,  and  it  feeds  upon  all 
things,  for  there  is  no  repugnance  to  any.  But  whatever  it 
may  come  in  contact  with  it  only  takes  that  which  is  accord¬ 
ing  to  its  own  quality.  Now,  every  object  it  meets  takes 
something  from  the  spirit ;  hence,  weakens  it. 

Demerit  increases  taste  and  repugnance,  and  in  this  man¬ 
ner  limits  the  freedom  and  radius  of  spirit,  thus  compelling 
it  to  feed  upon  “husks,”  often  to  its  weakness  and  disease. 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


135 


He  who  is  indifferent  gets  the  good  of  all,  and  his  spirit  is 
fat.  But  he  who  likes  and  dislikes  the  most,  is  poor  and 
lean  in  spirit.  These  are  basic  principles  of  power  and 
progress.  Disease  originates  in  this  manner.  As  the  beat¬ 
ing  of  the  heart  throws  the  blood  to  the  extremities,  so  does 
spirit  pour  out  in  the  pulsations  of  will.  As  blood  purines 
itself  by  contact  with  the  air,  in  like  manner  is  spirit  puri¬ 
fied  by  the  contact  of  pure  things.  “To  the  pure  all  things 
are  pure.”  The  more  indifferent  you  are,  the  purer  you 
are,  for  to  the  indifferent  all  things  are  alike— one. 

No  man  exists  in  any  condition  very  long  after  he  is  tired 
of  it.  The  man  who  is  forced  to  exist  passes  rapidly  out 
of  one  mode  of  existence  into  another,  becoming  less  and 
less  as  the  circles  narrow  to  the  going  out.  Demerit  is  that 
which  compels  us  to  exist — but  not  with  a  continual  con¬ 
sciousness  thereof.  To  increase  in  power,  and  the  pleasure 
it  alone  can  confer,  requires  effort  in  the  acquisition  of 
merit.  Merit  prepares  the  spirit,  by  giving  it  buoyancy 
and  elasticity. 

The  future  life  is  similar  to  this.  As  we  come  here  by 
force  and  go  out  by  force,  so  we  enter  spirit-life  and  pass 
through  it.  But  death  is  not  a  birth,  and  there  is  not  nec¬ 
essarily  a  growth  there  as  here.  The  spirit,  being  a  mortal 
thing,  is  often  diseased,  which,  of  course,  weakens  it.  The 
laws  of  demerit  are  vindictive,  and  all  debts  due  under  it 
must  be  paid,  and  death  is  the  penalty  of  violated  laws. 
Now,  since  the  mind  violates  the  law  whereby  the  body  be¬ 
comes  diseased,  the  mind  is  the  thing  that  must  die.  Physi¬ 
cal  death  is  only  typical  of  the  real  death  of  consciousness. 

There  are  things  that  wake  not  up  after  death,  till  they 
awaken  in  another  form — mosquitoes,  for  instance.  This  is 
death  followed  by  a  birth  into  another  form,  but  the  form 
of  man  containing  more  spirit  and  greater  consciousness, 
continues  after  death.  But  I  am  satisfied  that  many  never 


136 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


awaken,  or  if  they  do,  they  remain  on  the  earth  hovering 
around  mediums  ;  by  this  means  striving  to  get  back  to 
their  old  habits  and  vices — thus  sapping  the  spirits  of  mor¬ 
tals  of  vitality.  Such  have  an  ephemeral  existence,  and  at 
last  fall  asleep,  and  are  again  born  upon  this  earth. 

But  there  are  rnanv  who  lose  not  consciousness  for  a  sin- 
gle  moment,  and  who  are  not  aware  they  are  dead  till  some 
time  after:  to  such  death  is  not  a  birth  into  another  form, 
and  scarcely  into  another  existence.  It  is  just  upon  the 
confines  of  another  existence  into  which  the  good  walk 
deeper  and  deeper,  and  out  of  which  the  bad  are  kept  by 
their  own  inclinations :  not  only  in  this,  but  in  all  the  starry 
worlds. 

In  this  world,  as  well  as  in  all  the  planet  worlds  of  space, 
every  man  must  stand  upon  his  own  merits,  and  fall  by  his 
owrn  demerits.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  the  transfer  of 
merit  or  demerit  from  one  person  to  another. 

Merit  may  be  driven  wholly  out  of  the  spirit,  as  colors 
may  be  wrashed  out  of  cloth.  This  is  done  by  the  accumu¬ 
lation  of  demerit.  So,  also,  demerit  may  be  driven  out  of 
the  spirit  in  the  same  manner,  by  making  its  colors  brighter 
and  brighter,  by  the  accumulation  of  merit. 

The  reason  is  simple  enough:  Spirit  is  the  light  of  the 
body — its  brilliancy  is  determined  by  the  merit  acquired  in 
some  previous  existence  or  succession  of  existences.  The 
brilliancy  of  the  light  may  be  increased  by  improving  the 
quality  of  the  oil  in  the  lamp  as  you  replenish  it.  But  no 
other  light,  no  matter  how  brilliant  it  may  be,  can  make 
yours  one  whit  brighter,  by  being  placed  near  by.  You  nan 
only  change  the  quality  of  your  light  by  effort  in  the  acqui¬ 
sition  of  merit.  A  pure  spirit  can  only  impart  to  you  as 
you  render  yourself  receptive  thereto;  and  even  then  it  can 
only  give  you  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  its  table.  But 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


137 


crumbs  of  spirit  are  better  than  mountains  of  gold,  for  they 
are  health,  power,  immortality. 

Good  acts  have  an  influence  upon  the  body  in  more  ways 
than  one.  To  do  good,  because  it  is  easy  to  do  so,  is  meri¬ 
torious  ;  but  there  is  much  more  in  a  good  act  done  when 
the  inclination  is  the  reverse.  An  act  may  be  forced  out  by 
sympathy — which  is  good,  because  sympathy  is  a  result  of 
merit  acquired  in  a  previous  existence — but  it  may  not  have 
much  merit  in  it  as  an  addition  to  that  previously  acquired. 
An  act  done  without  sympathy  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
increasing  good,  without  any  hope  or  expectation  of  a 
reward,  has  the  highest  merit  therein. 

A  man  does  not  act  thus  except  from  deep  and  profound 
meditation  upon  the  true  relationship  of  things.  Merit  is 
the  substance  of  the  celestial  worlds,  and  he  who  meditates 
deeply,  attaches  himself  thereto  by  the  elevation  of  his 
spirit,  and  incorporates  it  into  his  spirit  according  to  his 
acts.  Thus,  it  becomes  part  and  parcel  of  his  body,  driving 
out  demerit. 

In  like  manner  could  all  diseases  be  healed,  were  it.  not 
for  the  demerit  of  former  existences.  Demerit  must  be 
worked  out  patiently  and  slowly.  In  some  cases  it  takes 
numerous  births  in  the  human  form,  attended  with  a  con¬ 
stant  effort,  with  the  object — to  get  rid  of  the  succession  of 
existence  where  there  is  nothing  but  an  alternation  of  plea¬ 
sure  and  pain  constantly  before  the  mind,  and  an  idea  to 
enter  upon  a  state  of  being  altogether  out  of  all  compre¬ 
hension.  “  He  that  would  save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he 
that  would  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  (the  sake  of  principle) 
shall  save  it.” — Jesus.  To  teach  the  way  upward  is  the 
object  of  this  book. 

Principle  is  the  magnet  which  holds  the  man  steadily  to 
the  polar  star  of  power.  Mercy  is  full  of  merit,  if  forgive¬ 
ness  comes  from  the  motive  to  do  good.  They  that  do 


138 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


good  because  it  is  easy  and  natural,  have  their  reward  as 
they  go  along.  But  he  who  does  good  contrary  to  his 
nature,  through  a  mastery  of  himself,  lays  up  great  merit 
in  store  for  a  future  life — verily  his  reward  shall  be 
great. 

To  feed  the  hungry  through  pity  is  good,  but  to  feed 
them  with  the  reflection  that  by  so  doing  you  will  help  them 
in  the  acquisition  of  merit  is  far  better.  It  is  better  to  do 
kindly  acts  and  say  kind  words  without  feeling,  than  to  feel 
and  not  say  or  do.  Both  are  good,  but  one  is  greater  than 
the  other.  A  small  meritorious  act  may  elevate  one  to  the 
seventh  heaven- — but  he  cannot  stay  there,  for  when  his  oil 
is  burned  out  he  must  return  for  more.  He  will  return  of 
his  own  accord,  for  he  will  be  in  darkness  without  merit. 

This  earth  is  the  only  place  wherein  merit  can  be 
acquired.  A  little  merit  will  carry  a  big  load  of  demerit 
into  heaven,  but  it  cannot  remain  for  want  of  buoyancy. 
Every  act  we  do,  every  thought  we  think,  and  every  word 
uttered,  affects  some  one  else,  and  we  do  not  know  the 
extent  of  its  influence.  Hence,  all  creation  is  bound 
together  in  the  bonds  of  sympathy.  This  is  a  result  of 
demerit.  The  Heavens  are  fast  anchored  to  the  Hells, 
and  there  can  be  no  perfect  bliss  so  long  as  one  poor  soul 
suffers.  A  chain  is  not  stronger  than  its  weakest  link. 

No  one  can  escape  the  meshes  of  sympathy  without 
cutting  all  its  chords.  Is  this  done  by  love,  think  you  ? 
Nay!  but  by  indifference.  The  love  of  principle  is  indiffer¬ 
ence  towards  objects.  This  is  the  first  and  greatest  com¬ 
mandment — to  love  principle  !  The  next  is,  love  all  things 
as  you  do  yourself.  This  is  indifference;  for  when  one 
loves  a  principle  with  all  the  intensity  of  his  being,  he  has 
no  self-love  nor  love  of  anything  on  God’s  green  earth. 
Now  the  only  principle  in  existence  is  Freedom.  Neither 
Power,  nor  God,  nor  Spirit  are  possible  without  freedom. 
Look  you  at  the  host  of  martyrs  for  Freedom !  They  loved 


MIGRATION  AND  TRANSMIGRATION. 


139 


principle  better  than  self,  wife,  children  or  friends — they 
were  swallowed  np  in  the  love  of  God’s  freedom!  This  is 
indifference  to  things.  Indifference  is  “the  door”  through 
which  merit  descends  to  man,  and  through  which  souls 
ascend  to  God. 

We  are  all  sunk  in  a  psychologic  sleep — the  falling  into 
which  was  effected  by  sympathy.  Those  to  whom  this  life 
is  the  most  real,  are  in  its  deepest  phase.  They  cannot 
perceive  the  illusion  of  it,  nor  the  ineffable  glory  of 
awakening  out  of  it,  and  the  becoming  a  spectator  of  one’s 
own  self  and  of  others.  This  becoming  a  spectator  is  the 
stepping  out  of  the  illusion,  as  out  of  one’s  self  in  which 
state  things  are  visible  in  spirit  only,  or  as  another  exist¬ 
ence.  It  is  like  a  peering  under  the  floors  of  conscious  life, 
as  into  a  great  darkness,  wherein  things  become  less  and 
less  distinct;  or  as  a  passing  through  a  wall  of  darkness 
into  a  great  and  indescribable  light,  and,  looking  back, 
behold  things  as  luminous — involved  in  will,  psychologiz¬ 
ing  each  other;  in  which  sleep  they  dance  with  pleasure  or 
howl  and  writhe  in  anguish,  as  if  in  fire. 

Occasionally  one  gets  tired,  and  seats  himself  in  some 
obscure  corner  to  look  on.  The  gods  seeing  him  thus 
meditative,  drop  down  into  the  mists  of  sympathy,  thus 
approaching  him  in  condition,  rack  his  thought  and  increase 
his  weariness  to  dissatisfaction  and  a  great  unrest — or  to 
hunger  and  thirst  after  something  permanent  and  real. 

Have  you,  too,  reader,  become  wearied  of  illusory  joys, 
that  slip  through  your  fingers  in  the  grasping,  as  a  phantom 
eludes  mortal  touch?  Become  indifferent,  then,  to  the  love 
of  life,  and  gradually  the  pain  and  pleasure  of  it  will  pass 
out  of  your  recognition.  Follow  me  in  the  culture  of  Will, 
and  learn  the  way  to  “the  door.”  Space  will  not  permit 
me  to  dwell  upon  this  theme,  prolific  as  it  is.  Volumes 
might  be  written,  and  still  the  darkness  could  no  more  com¬ 
prehend  the  light  now  than  in  the  olden  time. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  WILL. 


“Men  fail,  sicken  and  die,  through,  feebleness  of  will.” 
All  the  potencies  of  man  reside  in  the  will.  To  its  exercise 
is  due  all  motions — physical,  mental  and  spiritual.  Will  is 
God,  and  “  God  is  a  Spirit.”  Therefore,  the  will  employed 
in  an  act  is  the  spirit  thereof,  or  the  motive,  or  moving 
force.  Man  is  the  focus  of  above  and  below — of  without 
and  wfthin.  Hence  he  is  susceptible  to  influences  from 
each.  That  some  are  more  open  to  impressions  from  within 
than  others,  is  evident ;  and  the  same  is  true  as  regards 
externals. 

The  will  is  liable  to  be  led  captive  and  enslaved  by  either 
— aye,  to  be  subjugated  and  destroyed  !  But  there  is  a  point 
where  the  will  is  self-poised  and  free  in  its  action.  As  the 
will  is  the  spirit  of  every  act,  it  gives  quality  to  acts.  There 
seems  to  be  a  warfare  between  externals  and  internals,  as  to 
the  possession  of  the  will.  How  oft  do  we  see  it  verified, 
that  “  A  man  convinced  against  his  will,  is  of  the  same 
opinion  still.”  We  act  as  we  like  to  act — we  think  as  we 
like  to  think.  We  can  see  very  plainly  that  which  we  like 
to  see,  and  shut  our  eyes  very  closely  against  that  which  we 
do  not  like.  Evidence  has  but  a  feeble  effect  upon  the  will. 

Evil  comes  from  without — or,  rather,  from  that  which  is 
within  being  overpowered  and  captivated  by  that  which  is 
without,  or  foreign  to  ourselves  ;  while  the  good  comes 
from  within,  or  by  the  subjection  of  the  outer  by  the  inner. 


THE  WILL. 


141 


Tlie  objectifying  of  that  which  is  within  is  idolatry .  The 
subjectifying  of  objects  is  the  destruction  of  forms,  and  the 
resolving  of  things  back  to  the  original  essence  or  oneness 
from  which  they  spring.  This  is  the  digestion  of  things  in 
the  stomach  of  the  mind,  wherein  the  fire  is  extracted  which 
illuminates  the  spirit,  and  is  the  greatest  good  to  man,  for 
it  opens  the  eyes  of  the  soul  ;  it  glows  as  a  light  ;  it  warms 
as  fire  ;  it  nourishes  as  food  ;  gives  rest  and  cheerfulness  of 
mind ;  enriches  the  blood  ;  purifies  the  love,  and  fortifies 
the  soul. 

That  which  is  without  is  transient,  fleeting,  changing  and 
impermanent  ;  but  that  which  is  within  is  durable  ;  and  the 
deepest  hidden  is  the  most  durable  of  all. 

The  will  is  the  only  thing  that  approximates  absolute 
freedom,  and  this  is  not  free  because  of  love.  Love  is  wor¬ 
ship,  and  they  who  love  objects  are  idolaters.  We  are  free 
to  will  anything  we  may  fancy,  but  we  are  not  free  to  love 
or  accomplish,  because  we  are  limited  by  things  foreign  to 
ourselves,  which  we  love  or  hate,  or  are  indifferent  to. 

Love  is  worship,  but  hate  is  its  reflection,  as  things  tangi¬ 
ble  are  a  reflection  of  the  intangible.  Polytheism  and  Poly¬ 
gamy  are  branches  of  the  same  tree.  In  the  true  rendering 
they  mean  the  same  thing.  Polygamy  was  permitted  to  the 
Jews  on  account  of  “  the  hardness  of  their  hearts.”* 

The  love  of  God  is  the  love  of  Woman — not  Wo-Men. 
But  he  who  loves  any  form  is  an  idolater — the  formless 
principle  of  production  is  the  feminine  of  God. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  understand  the  foregoing,  save  in 
a  sinister  light,  wdiicli  is  a  false  light.  True  love  is  so  far 
hidden  from  even  the  imaginations  of  men,  that  an  effort  to 
make  it  known  is  almost  superfluous.  That  love  which  is 


*  In  the  Bible  Idolatry  or  Polytheism  is  called  “  whoring  after 
strange  Gods.” 


142 


THE  WILL. 


awakened  by  sight  or  contact  of  objects  is  the  dark  side — 
the  sinister  side — of  love.  Hence  the  reality  is  not  love  ; 
it  is  simply  an  appearance.  But  the  love  that  springs  from 
the  contemplation  of  a  principle  is  unchangeable,  if  it  be  a 
true  principle,  for  it  springs  from  light  which  is  real,  as 
God  is  real.  As  God  is  light,  so  the  will  is  light  ;  and  the 
love  that  is  produced  by  will  is  immortal,  because  it  is  pure. 

That  which  springs  spontaneously  from  the  earth  is  the 
weed,  bramble  and  fruit,  which  man  tries  to  improve.  So  it 
is  with  the  loves.  That  which  springs  from  impulse  is  con¬ 
sidered  by  civilization  as  a  thing  needing  punishment.  We 
believe  in  cool,  calm  judgment  and  self-control,  as  better 
than  spontaneity.  This  coolness  and  self-poise  comes  from 
the  exercise  of  will.  All  civilization  is  due  to  self-control. 
It  follows,  then,  as  a  logical  sequence,  that  if  it  is  possible 
for  man  to  guide  and  control  his  loves,  it  is  far  better  than 
for  him  to  be  led  by  his  blind  passions. 

Furthermore,  if  it  be  possible  to  create  love  by  any  pro¬ 
cess  whatever,  it  is  far  better  than  otherwise.  Hence  the 
command  to  love,  not  only  one  another,  but  our  enemies. 
Such  a  command  is  altogether  superfluous,  if  it  is  not  pos¬ 
sible  to  do  so.  We  know  how  to  destroy  and  disfigure  the 
fair  face  of  nature  ;  we  know  how  to  destroy  health  and 
happiness,  life  and  pleasure  ;  but  we  know  very  little  of  the 
creative  forces.  W  e  know  what  it  is  to  have  the  heart  beat 
quick  and  tumultuous  at  the  sight  of  beauty,  or  at  the  gen¬ 
tle  pressure  of  the  hand,  or  at  the  bewitching  glance  of 
love -lit  eyes  ;  but  we  know  nothing  absolutely  of  a  power 
to  feel  anything  but  disgust  at  a  loathsome  object.  Yet  it 
is  within  the  range  of  human  possibilities  to  love  that  which 
to  ordinary  minds  is  repulsive — in  fact,  to  love  all  and  des¬ 
pise  nothing.  It  is  the  despising  of  things  that  separates 
us  from  God  or  the  Supernatural. 

The  first  lesson  in  life  is  the  exercise  of  Will.  We  learn 


THE  WILL. 


143 


to  use  the  muscles,  but  mental  effort  precedes  it.  The  first 
effort  is  a  projection  of  power  into  the  nerves,  which  tremble 
and  go  astray  of  the  object  the  infant  tries  hard  to  grasp; 
but  with  practice  the  nerves  become  steady,  and  the  infant 
learns  gradually  to  manipulate  matter — first,  in  its  own 
body;  secondly,  outside  of  itself.  This  power  comes  to 
the  infant  out  of  nothing,  as  it  were,  as  characters  written 
upon  a  blank  page— nothing — called  out  into  this  world  of 
sense  by  a  display  of  trinkets,  colors,  sonnets  and  toys,  to  be 
a  something  manifesting  power,  force  and  will. 

The  basic  principle  of  all  power  and  of  all  development  is 
the  will.  It  is  all.  Every  faculty  of  the  mind,  every  nerve  of 
the  body,  centres  in  it.  It  is  the  trunk  of  the  tree  of  life :  all 
else  of  man  are  outgrowths  of  it.  Hence  the  development 
of  manhood  begins  and  ends  in  the  will.  It  is  the  centre- 
stance  of  being,  from  which  “  the  rib”  of  circumstances  was 
taken  (or  grew),  as  Eve  from  Adam.  Will  is  the  first  mani¬ 
festation  of  soul,  or  the  first  faculty  it  creates  for  its 
use. 

The  will  is  the  great  pulsating  heart  of  the  Soul — the 
reservoir  of  the  spirit— which,  in  its  contraction,  throws 
the  spirit  from  itself,  and  in  its  opening  draws  it  back  again. 
In  the  supernatural,  the  will  produces,  guides  and  controls 
the  loves,  but  in  the  natural  (so-called"'  the  loves  control 
and  guide  the  will. 

Naturally,  love  is  a  spontaneous  emotion,  produced  by  an 
object  of  attraction,  leading  the  will  captive.  But  super- 
naturally  love  is  an  emotion  forced  out  by  constant,  per¬ 
sistent  thought  of  an  Ideal,  which  Ideal  is  the  feminine 
counterpart  of  the  man,  dwelling  within  him,  united  to  him, 
absolutely  inseparable  from  him.  But  he  cannot  have  this 
Ideal  in  his  consciousness,  till,  in  the  purity  of  his  spirit, 
he  rises  up  to  its  conception  mentally.  This  is  a  revelation 
to  him,  sometimes  in  early  life,  but  often  in  age,  forced  out 


144 


THE  WILL. 


by  unrequited  love,  and  the  burning  anguish  of  dead  joys. 
Thus,  man  becomes  dual  in  his  nature  first,  afterwards  in ' 
actual  marriage  with  his  Ideal,  or  love. 

This  Ideal  is  seldom  incarnated  on  this  earth,  at  the  same 
time  the  man  is ;  if  it  ever  does  so  happen,  no  condition  can 
keep  them  apart.  When  they  meet,  they  intuitively  know 
each  other.  This  is  marriage  in  its  divine  significance. 
Man  and  woman  thus  united  by  the  “  Holy  Spirit”  is 
eternal — but  considered  separately  they  are  not  eternal 
entities,  but  are  interchangeable,  i.  e.,  man  is  liable  to 
become  a  woman,  and  woman  is  liable  to  become  a  man 
in  some  other  birth. 

The  man  hater  and  the  woman  hater  change  places  after 
two  or  three  revolutions  of  the  wheel  of  life.  Human  pro¬ 
gress  depends,  then,  upon  will-culture — and  the  field  to  be 
cultivated  is  the  loves,  in  which  and  from  which  all  things 
grow.  The  will  viewed  as  a  mental  faculty  has  its  antago¬ 
nist ,  which  is  REVERENCE. 

Once  upon  a  time  'when  intensely  musing  upon  the 
antagonisms  of  the  brain,  I  fell  asleep — but  it  was  not  all 
sleep — when  some  one  came  to  me,  as  “the  stranger”  came 
with  the  mirror.  I  did  not  see  him,  but  he  showed  me  a 
book.  Opening  it,  he  showed  me  this  strange  sentence: 
“The  will  is  antagonized  by  reverence!  In  the  foretime 
the  Gods,  out  of  fear  of  man’s  ambition,  created  reverence.” 

I  desired  to  take  the  book,  but  he  would  not  permit  me, 
but  showed  me  many  blank  pages  therein,  saying:  “  not 
now.”  It  was  several  years  before  I  could  accept  the 
strange  dogma.  But  it  is  true. 

We  are  taught  that  the  will  must  be  broken  in  early 
childhood,  and  in  order  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  The 
opposite  is  the  truth.  God  does  not  love  slaves  nor  cowards, 
and  the  child  whose  will  is  broken  is  of  no  earthly 
account. 


THE  WILL. 


145 


The  loves  must  be  tamed — broken,  if  necessary,  by  the 
vTill — guided  by  an  enlightened  understanding.  All  will 
is  pure  power,  and  should  be  increased  instead  of  being 
broken.  In  meditation  there  is  strength,  but  in  reverence 
there  is  weakness — a  tacit  acknowledgment  of  a  superior. 
There  is  a  god!  nay,  many,  but  if  they  are  superior  to  you 
it  is  your  own  fault.  You  may  have  been  a  god  yourself  at 
some  time,  and  you  may  be  again  with  proper  effort.  That 
proper  effort  is  not  in  humiliation. 

The  will  is  represented  in  the  mind  as  triune,  having 
three  faculties  through  which  it  manifests  itself,  as 
follows : 

I.  Firmness — -Determination — Stability. 

II.  Self-esteem — Independence — Self  poise. 

III.  Continuity — Tenacity — Continuativeness. 

A  proper  balance  and  harmony  of  these  three  constitute 
a  perfect  will.  The  weakness  or  excessive  development  of 
either  or*e  weakens  the  will.  As  intimated  above,  an 
enlightened  understanding  is  the  only  true  guide  for  the 
will.  This  enlightenment  is  illumination  of  the  mind — 
clairvoyance.  There  are  many  degrees  of  lucidity,  but  the 
highest  degree  is  the  perception  of  principles — of  “  princi¬ 
palities  and  powers.” 

The  inmost  and  the  outermost  of  being  is  connected  by 
the  imagination.  It  stands  between  the  will  and  the  loves; 
hence,  all  the  operations  of  the  will  must  be  through  the 
imagination.  It  is  the  “  magic  mirror”  of  the  mind,  through 
which  the  soul  scans  the  horizon,  or  upon  which  the  universe 
may  be  made  to  impinge — not  in  vague  and  shadowy  forms, 
many-colored  or  kaleidoscopic,  but  in  reality ,  either  black 
or  white.  It  is  prolific;  for  herefrom  comes  all  of  art, 
science,  literature  and  beauty,  as  well  as  the  horrible, 
grotesque  and  sinister. 

Crimes  are  brooded  over  and  hatched  here  in  the  imagina- 


146 


THE  WILL. 


tion.  In  this  fairy-land  is  death  enthroned,  for  that  which 
is  born  is  the  death  of  something  else.  This  is  magic 
ground  from  which  things  grow  by  the  conjuring  of  the 
will.  Here  things  dissolve  themselves  and  expose  their 
deformities;  and  here  hideous  thing3  are  enrobed  in  garbs 
angelic.  Here  religion  has  its  stronghold — for  in  this  the 
gods  show  themselves  to  man.  Maligned,  abused,  scoffed 
at,  the  jeer  and  laughter-provoking  thing  yet  rules  the 
world.  Disrobe  man  of  the  imagination  and  what  is  he  ? 
A  brute — worse  than  savage.  His  very  flesh  covers  itself 
with  hair,  as  if  to  hide  its  coarseness  and  vulgarity. 

But  let  the  imagination  loose,  and  the  hair  grows  soft 
and  fine,  or  disappears.  The  flesh  glows  with  fires  immor¬ 
tal  ;  the  eye  loses  its  savage  glare,  and  man’s  robes  are  of 
the  finest  texture.  The  earth,  under  its  rule,  is  no  longer  a 
howling  wilderness,  but  is  dotted  all  over  with  fairy-like 
splendors — its  magic  productions.  Steam  almost  annihilates 
space,  and  the  lightnings  flash  thought  from  pole  to  pole 
ahead  of  old  time.  This  is  all  due  to  the  dreamings  of  the 
imagination. 

O 

On  the  shores  of  eternity’s  ocean  are  greater  things 
waiting  for  some  dreamer  to  espie  and  hand  down  to  enrich 
mankind.  All  hail  to  the  dreamers,  poets,  philosophers, 
preachers,  writers  and  inventors  !  They  have  always  left 
their  mark  and  always  will,  as  an  ineffaceable  brand  upon 
the  face  of  humanity.  Trust,  aspiration  and  hope  have 
their  very  roots  in  the  imagination.  It  is  only  by  virtue  of 
it  that  the  good  side  of  humanity  in  general  can  be 
discerned. 

The  unimaginative  are  the  doubtful,  unbelieving  and  dis¬ 
trustful.  Have  they  ever  built  anything  desirable  ?  or  ever 
added  anything  of  value  to  mankind  ?  Thomas  Paine  whs 
not  an  unbeliever.  He  believed  in  God  and  humanity,  and 
he  left  his  mark  upon  this  people  that  will  be  known  and 


THE  WILL. 


147 


felt  for  long  ages.  He  loved  a  principle ,  i.  e .,  human  lib¬ 
erty,  and  worked  to  establish  it.  Paine  was  a  dreamer.  In 
his  imagination  he  saw  equal  rights,  and  if  he  lived  in  this 
age  he  would  see  woman’s  rights. 

Theories  lead  the  van — practice  comes  slowly  along,  like 
a  lumbering  wagon,  afterwards.  The  imagination  is  an 
infinite  field.  There  are  many  roads  in  it,  and  many  jungles 
and  angles.  All  the  loves  centre  here  where  they  impinge 
upon  the  will. 

“And  God  saw  that  the  imaginings  of  man’s  heart  was 
continually  evil,”  i.  e.,  outward.  Oh!  that  I  might  impress 
upon  you  the  vast  importance  of  looking  within  !  May  not 
this  be  the  closet  into  which  Christ  bade  his  disciples  retire 
in  prayer  ?  What  is  contemplation  but  imagination  ?  What 
is  prayer  but  the  aspirations  of  the  soul  ?  And  what  are 
aspirations  but  images  of  the  soul.  How  can  we  “  pluck 
the  mote  out  of  our  own  eyes  ”  in  any  other  way  than  by 
looking  within  ?  This  plucking  out  of  the  mote  is  nothing 
but  the  development  of  clairvoyance— clear  seeing.  That 
is  done  by  the  imagination. 

“If  thine  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off,”  etc. — what  is  this 
but  the  analysis  and  destruction  of  passions  that  retard  and 
hinder  the  development  of  the  soul  to  the  kingdom  of  power  ? 
If  diseases  are  ever  healed  by  the  imagination,  is  it  not  a 
divine  gift — better  far  than  medicine  ?  and  is  it  not  best  to 
cultivate  it  ?  If  it  will  heal  the  sick  ;  if  it  will  make  life 
any  more  pleasant,  for  God’s  sake  let  us  have  more  of  it. 

Three  essential  elements  constitute  perfect  man,  viz :  Will, 
Imagination  and  Love.  These  are  the  positive,  negative  and 
neutral.  Imagination  is  the  indifferent  part  of  mind,  cor¬ 
responding  to  indifferent  nature  —  “the  door,”  already 
explained  in  previous  chapters.  It  is  the  “Garden  of  Eden  ” 
out  of  which  man  was  cast.  The  same  tree  of  life  is  there 
still,  guarded  by  a  flaming  sword  which  turns  every  way. 


148 


THE  WILL. 


What  more  beautiful  type  of  fire  than  a  “  flaming  sword 
Fire-flame,  that  guards  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life — consum¬ 
ing  all  impure  things  that  approach  the  dread  portals  of  the 
kingdom  of  power.  The  pure  only  are  eternal.  Purity  is 
original — this  is  unchangeable.  All  originality  comes  to 
man  through  reverie:  this  is  imagination.  Man  reaches 
God  in  the  imagination.  In  it  God  walks  and  talks  with 
man.  It  is  the  creative  faculty — not  in  and  of  itself,  but 
herein  the  will  conjures  things  from  the  unknown,  and  com¬ 
pels  them  to  appear  to  the  consciousness — first,  of  himself  ; 
secondly,  of  others. 

In  the  imagination,  things,  ideas,  passions,  hatreds,  loves, 
vices,  etc.,  may  be  destroyed — first,  as  realities  within  ;  sec¬ 
ondly,  as  obstacles  outside  of  us.  For  instance,  an  enemy 
may  be  made  sick,  and  gradually  to  die,  or  he  may  be  sud¬ 
denly  killed,  by  the  powerful  will  of  an  intensely  imagina¬ 
tive  man  or  woman.  Or  he  may  be  tamed,  subdued,  and 
made  a  friend  of  through  and  by  the  same  power.  God 
pity  the  one  who  would  prostitute  such  a  power  to  a  base 
or  unworthy  purpose  ! 

This  is  hard  to  believe,  but  the  rationale  is  very  simple  to 
one  of  comprehension.  But  it  is  not  my  object  to  teach 
these  things  in  this  work,  only  so  far  as  to  point  the  road. 

There  is  little  power  among  men  on  account  of  the  want 
of  will.  There  is  plenty  of  obstinacy  and  unreasoning  ten¬ 
acity  of  purpose.  This  is  due  to  firmness ,  which  is  tho 
projecting  or  repulsive  power  of  will.  By  the  use  of  it  wo 
project  ourselves — first,  into  the  nerves  and  muscles  ;  sec¬ 
ondly,  into  objects — obstacles  that  stand  in  our  way.  Its 
work  is  outwardly .  We  waste  our  strength  and  lose  our¬ 
selves  in  objects  of  love,  hate,  envy  and  pride.  In  this 
projection  we  leave  ourselves  empty.  Emptiness,  like  filth, 
invites  disease  and  death.  Projection — repulsion — produces 


THE  WILL. 


149 


death.  ( There  is  a  sexual  arcana  here :  let  him  who  reads 
ponder  well.)  We  die  that  others  may  have  being. 

Firmness  is  wThat  its  name  implies — hardness .  “  Firm  as 
the  rocks”  expresses  its  real  character.  It  hardens  the 
nerves,  muscles  and  very  bones,  and  also  affects  the  spirit 
in  the  same  way,  rendering  it  viscid  and  difficult  of  motion. 
That  which  should  be  fire  emitted  is  but  a  glutinous  mass 
of  molten  matter.  Instead  of  emitting  jets  of  fire,  flame- 
tipped,  that  reach  the  soul — the  empyrean— the  throne  of 
the  living  God — baptizing  each  other  with  fire  and  “  the 
Holy  Ghost,”  cheering,  comforting,  exhilarating  with  divine 
life  and  vigor — drawing  human  souls  together  in  the  one¬ 
ness  of  a  divine  love — we  emit  a  force  that  is  like  "water 
upon  fire — destructive  to  all  real  life  and  happiness — repels 
man  from  man,  and  man  from  "woman,  in  one  universal 
divorce.  Instead  of  the  controlling,  persuasive,  binding 
power  of  will,  we  have  the  booming  cannon,  the  dagger  and 
revolver,  and  the  rough-and-tumble  fight  of  dogs. 

The  “still,  small  voice”  of  wisdom  is  drowned  in  the 
deafening  roar  of  countless  blood-stained  feet,  hastening  to 
tread  out  the  wine  of  human  life.  In  our  great  marts  of 
commerce,  hearts  have  no  more  pulsation  than  the  metal 
that  chinks.  Firmness  —  the  external  of  will  —  hardens 
everything  !  Even  human  hearts  rattle  like  rocks  thrown 
together. 

Suppose  love  to  be  the  only  immortal  thing:  how  much 
will  be  left  of  mankind  after  the  fire  has  removed  the 
impurities  of  it  ?  Not  much !  Then  roll  on  your  Juggernaut 
of  mammon.  Shout  and  hurrah  for  kings,  priests,  popes, 
bishops,  honorables  and  aristocrats  of  every  grade — your 
gods.  Dress  yourselves  in  your  gaudy  shrouds  for  one 
universal  burial.  Marshal  your  hosts  for  the  grand  carnival 
of  death:  for  what  matters  the  blood  of  ephemera  ?  Ye  pass 
away  like  insects!  Another  race  is  coming — one  in  whom 


150 


THE  WILL. 


this  outward  tumult  of  a  boisterous  will  shall  give  place  to 
silence  and  peace,  and  man  shall  live  till  he  chooses  to 
die. 

In  this  reverence — this  antagonist  of  will — all  thrones 
and  crowns  take  root.  King-craft,  priest-craft  and  hero- 
worship  must  fall  together.  This  vampire  trinity  fattens 
upon  the  best  blood  of  humanity.  It  makes  slaves  and 
minions  of  the  masses.  No  wonder  they  all  love  and  preach 
worship — it  is  food,  raiment  and  idleness  for  them,  and  toil 
and  rags  for  the  human  race.  It  debases  mankind,  because 
it  robs  them  of  self-respect— the  central  pivot  of  the  will. 
The  idea  that  you  are  beneath  another  cripples  you. 

Selfness  is  nearest  the  soul — it  is  the  very  vitals  of  will. 
Confidence  in  self  inspires  self-respect.  To  take  away 
either  is  like  taking  off  a  leg — we  must  walk  on  crutches. 
To  feel  inferior  is  to  be  so.  To  feel  equal  is  to  grow  to  be 
such.  The  proud  and  arrogant  interiorly  feel  their  weak¬ 
ness,  and  hence  arrogate  to  themselves  something  foreign 
so  as  to  inspire  worship  in  others. 

The  antagonist  of  self-esteem  is  love  of  approbation. 
This  love  of  the  approval  of  others  is  one  branch  of  rever¬ 
ence.  To  be  praised  and  flattered  by  a  king  is  something 
grand,  and  to  be  coveted.  Humble  yourself  in  the  dust  for 
a  smile  of  approval  from  one  crowned.  To  secure  the 
approval  of  heaven,  humble  and  debase  yourself.  In  other 
words,  act  the  hypocrite,  pretend  humility  to  superiors,  but 
to  those  beneath  you  be  lord,  king,  duke  or  God.  Such  is 
the  effect  of  modern  theological  teachings. 

Self-esteem  normally  gives  the  feeling  of  self-reliance, 
confidence  and  independence.  It  gives  rise  to  manly  equality 
and  self-poise.  It  is  the  balance-wheel,  the  regulator,  the 
pivot  upon  which  manhood,  like  a  compass,  rests. 

Self  is  antagonized  by  others  ;  hence,  he  who  gives  him¬ 
self  up  to  please  others,  gives  himself  to  his  antagonist — 


THE  WILL. 


151 


viz:  that  which  ruins  him  by  throwing  him  out  of  balance. 
Be  yourself  ;  think  yourself  ;  learn  of  everything  and  of 
everybody  ;  be  worthy  of  your  own  self-respect :  for  when 
you  have  secured  that,  the  respect  of  others  is  certain.  Be 
independent,  but,  in  so  doing,  remember  the  rights  of  oth¬ 
ers.  Rights  are  equal  ;  wrongs  make  inequalities.  If  you 
have  any  selfhood,  consult  that  first  of  all.  Secure  in  self- 
respect,  you  need  not  fear  others,  for  God  approves  of  self¬ 
honor.  This  is  the  only  glory,  and  the  only  way  to  glorify 
God. 

Praise  is  a  false  wind — it  blows  no  good.  Fame  ! — what 
is  it  but  a  breath,  shouting  huzzas  which,  prolonged,  die 
away  in  a  hiss  ?  Breath  of  the  rabble  !  the  unthinking 
herd  !  One  minute  exalting  you  to  heaven,  the  next  tramp¬ 
ling  you  in  filth.  And  yet  it  is  said  God  loves  praise.  The 
absurdity  is  too  apparent.  W e  cannot  add  anything  to  the 
Infinite.  We  can,  however,  join  ourselves  to  the  Infinite, 
and  we  are  glorified  thereby.  This  it  is  to  “  glorify  God 
in  these  bodies,  which  are  His  ” — or  ours  in  the  glorifying. 
Thus  we  increase  the  selfhood  —  the  foundation  of  all 
power — will. 

Inordinate  self-esteem  may  have  no  self-respect  at  all. 
Self-respect  is  based  in  right,  truth  and  justice.  Hence,  he 
who  respects  others  and  their  rights,  has  self-respect.  He 
who  has  no  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  although  he  may 
possess  a  powerful  external  will,  has  a  weak  will  interiorly. 
He  is  like  a  tree  with  a  large  top,  but  whose  trunk  is  rotten. 
Respect  is  the  very  foundation  of  love  ;  hence,  self-respect 
leads  to  self-love  or  egotism.  This  is  an  excessive  growth 
from  a  fruitful  soil.  Such  need  pruning. 

The  will,  like  everything  else  in  nature,  grows  outwardly 
to  the  weakening  of  its  roots.  Egotism  is  the  fatal  tendency 
of  all  aspirations.  It  is  a  weakness  that  must  be  guarded 
against.  Self-approbation  springs  from  the  same  source  as 


152 


THE  WILL. 


love  of  the  approval  of  others — viz:  reverence.  There  is 
such  a  thing  as  self- worship.  Egotism  is  to  the  will  what 
the  moss  is  to  trees  in  “  the  sunny  South  ” — it  dwarfs  and 
finally  kills.  Strip  man  of  pretense  and  egotism  (which  is 
the  same)  and  what  is  there  left  of  him  ?  He  who  is  puffed 
up  and  loaded  with  self-complacency  and  pride  is  rotten 
within. 

Self-gratification  is  the  root  of  human  action.  As  we 
grow  we  send  out  many  branches,  but  self- gratification  sup¬ 
ports  them  all.  No  matter  what  pursuit  we  follow,  or  what 
course  in  life  we  pursue,  that  is  the  prime  motive  power. 
The  will  is  made  a  slave  to  it.  It  is  the  fundamental  prin¬ 
ciple  of  all  religious  systems.  The  so-called  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  based  in  it,  and  hell  is  filled  with  the  devotees  of 
self-gratification.  Even  Buddhism,  which  claims  that  there 
is  no  self  or  Ego  in  reality,  holds  out  the  inducement  to  its 
votaries  of  escaping  to  Nirwana,  from  the  ceaseless  and 
eternal  succession  of  existences.  To  this  end  the  senses 
are  attacked,  and  bodily  or  physical  and  mental  gratification 
destroyed — in  order  to  arrive  at  the  gates  of  ecstacy  and 
power — in  order  to  cease  to  be* 

So,  self  is  the  basis  of  all,  and  the  only  god.  Pleasure  is 
the  object  of  all,  no  matter  what  road  is  taken.  Even  the 
materialist  finds  his  pleasure  in  the  quiescence  and  the 
quintescence  of  matter.  Men  get  religion  through  fear  of 
the  pains  of  hell,  and  in  hope  of  the  pleasures  of  heaven. 

The  Hindoo  mother  tosses  her  babe  into  the  murkv  waters 

•/ 

of  the  Ganges  to  appease  the  wrath  of  her  gods — in  hopes 
of  a  reward.  The  Fakir  of  India  puts  a  hook  in  the  quiv¬ 
ering  flesh  of  his  back  and  suspends  himself  for  days  in 

*  This  is  the  exoteric  of  Buddhism  ;  the  esoteric  has  never  been 
written.  Hardy  translates  their  sacred  books,  but  frankly  admits 
that  if  Nirwana  does  not  mean  annihilation,  he  does  not  know  what 
its  meaning  is. 


THE  WILL. 


153 


mid-air,  or  stands  with  hands  clasped,  in  one  position,  till 
the  limbs  are  paralyzed,  and  the  finger-nails  grow  through 
the  palms  of  the  hands,  like  claws — all  in  hope  of  power 
and  pleasure  other  than  that  of  the  earthly  senses. 

Some  seek  the  ultimate  of  life  in  the  carnival  of  carnal 
passions,  others  in  mammon  worship,  others  in  Government 
positions,  politics,  etc.  Is  all  this  universal  hunger  and 
thirst — this  deathless  longing— a  mere  hallucination  ?  or,  is 
it  the  index  finger  of  Fate  pointing  to  a  great  truth  ?  Is  self 
capable  of  becoming  infinite  in  power  and  pleasure — in  this 
universal  changing  of  conditions  and  polarities  ?  We  of 
the  old  school  of  thought  say,  Yes. 

Of  all  the  potencies  of  nature,  the  I,  the  Ego,  the  self,  is 
the  only  thing  beyond  comprehension  that  has  a  positive 
and  tangible  existence.  All  things  else  are  mere  appendages 
of  it.  I  speak  of  my  soul,  mind,  spirit  and  body  as  of  my 
coat,  or  any  other  property.  But  when  I  speak  of  myself — 
of  “the  think”  and  “the  feel,” — I  am  at  a  loss  for  a  defini¬ 
tion.  To  go  behind,  beyond,  above  or  below  myself  is  im¬ 
possible.  I  confront  myself  at  every  turn.  It  is  as  easy  to 
comprehend  God  as  myself,  for  the  simple  reason  that  I  and 
the  numeral  one  (1),  are  identically  the  same. 

One  (1)  is  the  foundation  of  mathematics,  from  which  all 
numerals  flow  forth  (arbitrarily  and  absurdly).  In  the  be¬ 
ginning  was  one  (1)  God,  one  law,  one  will.  From  will 
came  many  ones  by  emission,  or  emanation.  One  thing 
cannot  be  added  to  another ,  save  by  fusion,  and  even  then 
numbers  disappear  in  the  universal  one.  Add  one  grain  of 
corn  to  another ;  true,  the  figure  2  represents  the  number, 
for  convenience,  but  the  addition  is  arbitrary — there  they 
remain,  separate  and  alone,  each  an  individual  thing.  In 
nature  there  is  no  addition. 

Fusion  and  emanation  are  the  only  mathematical  laws. 
Division  is  as  arbitrary  as  addition.  Divide  a  grain  of  corn 


154 


THE  WILL. 

» 

and  it  loses  its  individuality.  Plant  tlie  grain  and  it  emits 
from  itself  whole  ship-loads,  but  it  loses  itself  in  so  doing. 
Now  God  emanated  from  Himself  all  things,  which,  in  the 
beginning,  were  as  like  Him  as  one  thing  can  be  like 
another.  Perfect  man  was  the  first  emanation.  He  existed 
long  before  this  world  or  any  of  the  lower  orders  had  an 
existence.  He  (man)  was  all  in  himself — i.  e.,  he  was  the 
first  or  great  primal  law  of  creation.  Laws  are  modes  of 
action  :  man  is  an  action  of  God  or  will.  From  man’s  will 
flowed  all  lesser  laws  or  things. 

The  Ego,  the  I,  myself,  is  an  emanation  of  God — a  crea¬ 
tive  action — the  first  and  the  last  and  the  whole — (1).  The 
lower  orders  are  man’s  creations  —  degenerated  human 
beings,  lesser  things,  laws  or  acts.  The  sage  of  Genesis 
simply  got  the  cart  before  the  horse  when  he  said  the  ani¬ 
mals  were  created  before  man.  Afterwards,  however,  he 
rectifies  the  mistake  partly,  when  he  speaks  of  the  “Sons  of 
God”  marrying  the  daughters  of  men.  These  “  Sons  of 
God  ”  were  the  primitive  men,  of  which  I  have  spoken. 

I  am  the  creator  of  all  my  acts — they  are  laws.  They 
flow  out  through  effort  of  will — being  projections  of  the 
Ego — myself.  Thus  God  meets  man — is  man — in  the  self¬ 
hood.  The  selfhood  is  God  humanized.  The  selfhood  of 
animals  is  God  brutalized.  We  can  understand  how  it  is 
possible  for  man  to  produce  that  which  is  inferior  to  him¬ 
self,  but  it  is  more  difficult  to  conceive  of  his  creating  any¬ 
thing  superior.  How  can  the  animal  evolve  man,  who  is 
superior  in  every  essential  ?  How  can  man  progress  unless 
there  is  something  above  him  to  which  he  is  near  related  ? 
This  relation  is  found  in  the  self  hood — the  central  pivot  of 

WILL. 

Be  very  careful,  then,  reader,  how  you  trifle  with  your¬ 
self.  Every  thought  and  act  which  debases  you,  i.  e.,  sinks 
you  in  your  own  inner  consciousness ,  that  which  you  wish 


THE  WILL. 


155 


to  hide  away  in  some  dark  corner  of  yourself — away  from 
the  eye  of  even  yourself — debases  God.  The  day  comes 
speedily  when  he  will  sit  in  judgment  upon  your  every 
thought  and  act — and  that  upon  the  throne  of  your  own 
conscious  selfhood.  Firmness  is  the  moving  force  or  con¬ 
trolling  power  of  this  outward  sensuous  life — the  power  of 
aggression,  of  overcoming  obstacles  by  physical  force.  It 
is  the  masculine  of  will. 

Self  is  neutral — hermaphrodite — neither  masculine  nor 
feminine.  The  feminine  of  will  is  represented  by  continuity. 
Self-esteem,  phrenologically,  is  located  just  above  the  crown 
of  the  head;  firmness,  a  little  in  front  or  above  it,  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  cranium;  while  continuity  is  just  below 
self-esteem — inferior  in  position  and  diminutive  in  size, 
situated  just  above  the  social  group,  as  a  mother  keeping 
guard  over  her  children. 

Understand,  that  the  will  is  a  trinity.  One  part  does 
not  act  without  the  co-operation  of  the  others;  they  are 
inseparable.  For  the  sake  of  illustration  and  analysis, 
and  to  make  comprehensible  that  which  follows  under  the 
head  of  will-culture,  and  to  show  the  rationale — or  the 
modus  operandi — of  creative  power,  these  distinctions  are 
made. 

The  feminine  is  the  attractive,  and  hence,  the  productive 
principle  of  nature — that  principle  which  collects  matter 
and  combines  it  into  forms.  The  principal  office  of  continuity 
is  the  drawing  of  the  spirit  together — to  a  focus — prepara¬ 
tory  to  projection.  There  is  always  a  concentration  of  force 
or  energy  in  all  effort,  and  the  greater  the  concentration  the 
greater  will  be  the  power  manifested. 

The  tension  of  the  nerves  and  muscles  is  due  to  con¬ 
tinuity — oneness  of  force  and  energy.  It  lays  hold,  as 
with  hands,  of  each  mental  fibre,  and  guides  the  fiery  steeds 
of  spirit.  Spirit  obeys  mind,  but  mind  is  under  the  will. 


150 


THE  WILL. 


Continuity  is  intenseness — continuativeness.  Once  directed 
to  an  object,  it  fastens  itself  to  the  spirit  thereof,  and, 
leech-like,  sucks  its  very  life  out.  If  continuity  be  large, 
one  becomes  absorbed  in  any  pursuit,  object  or  passion,  to 
the  forgetfulness  of  other  things.  It  cannot  let  go.  This 
leads  to  insanity,  which  is  simply  the  unbalancing  of  the 
will. 

Consciousness  is  a  result  of  the  poising  or  posing  of  the 
will:  hence  the  polarization  of  the  will  is  the  true  work  of 
him  who  aspires  to  infinite  conscious  power.  The  will 
oscillates,  similar  to  the  needle  of  a  compass,  or  the  balance- 
wheel  of  a  watch,  or  as  a  beam  very  nicely  poised.  Too 
much  attraction  in  any  given  direction,  or  too  much  weight 
at  one  end  of  the  scale,  causes  change  of  polarities,  which 
is  a  change  in  the  conscious  life  of  thought,  memory,  feel¬ 
ing  or  sensation.  When  this  change  is  extreme,  the  being 
is  changed,  the  memory  is  lost,  or  judgment  is  dethroned, 
and  yet  the  form  of  the  being  remains  apparently  the 
same;  but  the  man  himself  has  vacated  his  throne  and 
become  a  servant  of  some  other  power  greater  than  he. 

In  view  of  this  philosophical  truth,  we  claim  that  there 
is  no  real  sanity  on  this  earth,  and  very  little  of  it  in  spirit- 
life,  beneath  the  abode  of  the  gods.  There  are  no  perfect 
wills.  Either  firmness,  continuity  or  self-esteem  are  too 
weak  or  too  strong  for  proper  balance  and  harmony.  In 
this  mundane  sphere  the  masculine  weighs  dovra  the 
feminine,  and,  worse  even  than  all  that,  the  central  diamond 
of  the  soul — selfhood — is  marred  and  corroded  till  there  is 
no  perfect  oscillation  or  movement. 

We  have  moved,  like  a  wagon,  so  long  in  one  rut  that  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  get  out  of  it.  We  have  looked  so 
long  at  the  black  side  of  God’s  sign-board — nature — that  it 
has  become  luminous  to  us ;  and  at  the  white  side — spirit — 
so  little  that  it  has  lost  its  lustre  and  is  forgotten,  or,  sup- 


THE  WILL. 


157 


posed  at  most  to  be  the  night  of  nothingness.  This  is 
insanity.  A  man  may  be  insane  in  whole  or  in  part:  in 
either  case,  the  will,  becoming  unbalanced,  has  lost  control 
in  whole  or  in  part.  It  has  lost  its  grasp.  The  reversal  of 
the  poles  of  the  will  is  why  we  have  no  memory  of  previous 
states  of  existence.  The  will,  by  chance,  accident,  sickness, 
or  by  intent,  may  oscillate  back  to  the  point  it  occupied  in 
some  former  age,  or  previous  state  of  being,  and  the  person 
be  exactly  what  he  was  spiritually  at  that  time,  and  lose  all 
memory  of  this  life 

A  psychologized  person  may  be  made  to  feel  and  act  like 
a  dog,  while  under  the  influence.  Why  ?  Just  because  his 
will  is  thrown  out  of  balance,  and  he  is  what  we  call,  in 
other  circumstances,  insane.  It  is  just  such  effects  that  we 
call  insanity.  In  all  similar  cases  of  insanity  where  the 
psychologist  is  not  seen  or  known,  it  is  the  spirit  of  some 
one  unknown,  either  mortal  or  a  spirit.  At  such  times  we 
say  he  is  insane.  The  consciousness  of  being  remains,  but 
memory — the  bridge  over  the  chasms  of  time — is  broken 
down,  but  n#>t  totally  destroyed.  It  may,  however,  be 
reconstructed  by  the  culture  of  the  will,  and  all  remem¬ 
brances  revived. 

Continuity  is  that  power  which  leads  to  forgetfulness  of 
these  surroundings — to  abstraction  and  absorption.  It  is 
when  we  become  absorbed  in  some  work  or  passion  that  wre 
forget  our  weakness,  or  vThat  wTe  know  of  ourselves,  and  rise 
up  to  grandeur  and  glory.  The  greatest  achievements,  the 
most  heroic  deeds,  the  greatest  discoveries  that  bless  man¬ 
kind,  are  all  due  to  this  little  feminine  faculty  of  will,  which 
leads  to  insanity. 

The  diffusion  of  spirit,  the  waste  of  life,  the  weakness  and 
misdirection  of  energy,  uncontrollable  passions,  the  want  of 
psychological  power,  the  pains  and  aches  of  the  body — 
these  are  all  due  to  the  weakness  of  continuity,  and  excessive 


158 


THE  WILL. 


self-consciousness.  This  self-consciousness  is  a  rut  dug 
deep  by  demerit,  in  which  we  are  all  sunk — as  in  a  quag¬ 
mire.  Purity  of  self  is  the  only  help  for  #us — the  only 
lubricator  of  the  will — the  only  cleanser  of  this  human 
time-piece.  Purity — physical,  mental  and  spiritual — cannot 
be  achieved  by  outward  acts.  It  is  an  inward  effort — an 
inward  tire  kindled  by  the  action  of  continuity,  which  burns 
out  the  dross  of  these  gross  natures.  This  fire  is  kindled 
by  the  accumulation  of  spirit  whenever  and  ivherever 
attraction  overbalances  repulsion. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


V  * 

THE  VOLUNTARY  AND  INVOLUNTARY  POWERS. 

The  great  majority  of  our  acts  are  involuntary.  Even 
the  acts  which  we  think  we  do  voluntarily,  are  mainly  either 
forced  or  coaxed  out  of  us  by  an  impulse.  But,  no  matter 
how  this  may  be,  we  know  we  have  volition,  or  voluntary 
powers,  however  small  they  may  be  ;  or  no  matter  how  vast 
the  involuntary  may  be,  it  is  subservient  to  us.  Call  it  what 
you  like-  Nature  or  God — it  is  our  servant.  When  once 
this  machine  is  set  in  motion,  it  automatically  obeys. 

A  musician,  after  he  has  mastered  the  use  of  his  instru¬ 
ment,  does  not  will  each  separate  motion  of  his  fingers  ;  his 
mind  may  be  occupied  with  words  he  may  be  singing  to  the 
music,  but  his  fingers  move  fast  or  slow  in  accord  with  the 
music,  and  his  feet  work  upon  the  pedal  without  attention 
or  thought.  So  it  is  with  all  we  do.  In  doing  a  piece  of 
work  with  which  one  is  familiar,  the  thought  wanders  away, 
but  still  the  work  goes  on.  In  sleep  the  voluntary  is  sus¬ 
pended,  i.  e.,  the  mind  is  at  rest  ;  and  at  times  the  will  also 
seems  to  rest,  or  memory  and  judgment  to  be  suspended. 

Habits  all  become  automatic,  or  involuntary.  Habits  of 
the  body  and  mind  are  alike,  and  yet  the  voluntary  seems  to 
be  of  the  mind  :  in  fact,  they  are  so  closely  allied,  and  so 
interw oven,  that  it  is  difficult  to  separate  them,  or  to  define 
them  as  separate  powers.  But  we  do  know  that  all  the  light 
we  have  is  of  the  mind,  and  all  the  power  of  it  comes  from 
the  involuntary.  Voluntarily  we  do  as  we  think  best,  but 
the  power  to  accomplish  is  the  most  of  it.  Thus  it  seems 
plain  to  me  that  the  voluntary  powers  are  merely  a  thought 


160 


THE  VOLUNTARY  AND  INVOLUNTARY  POWERS. 


we  have,  which  thought  is  all  we  have  to  guide  us.  It  is 
possible  that  this  thought  may  be  so  cultivated  and  enlarged 
to  become  as  automatic  as  any  habit,  and  express  itself  as 
any  involuntary  power,  even  in  our  sleep. 

Language  is  a  mere  matter  of  culture  or  habit;  and  so 
of  thought,  or  any  of  the  bodily  functions.  Indigestion 
may  be  cured;  torpid  liver  made  to  act;  and  constipation 
of  the  bowels  overcome,  by  paying  constant  attention  to 
regularity.  By  paying  little  or  no  attention  to  the  move¬ 
ment  of  the  bowels,  thus  breaking  up  nature’s  habits,  their 
warnings  become  less  and  less,  and,  in  time,  habits  of  con¬ 
stipation  or  inaction  intervene.  But  if  you  will  have  a 
regular  time  for  the  evacuation,  and  pay  strict  attention 
thereto,  providing  an  opportunity,  whether  f'  -  *e  is  an 
inclination  or  not,  nature  will  in  time  listen  to  y<  ar  demand, 
and  furnish  the  power  to  remove  all  obstructions,  and  give 
life  to  the  torpid  tissues.  Such  is  the  force  of  habit. 

This  new7  life  comes  through  an  effort  of  the  will — first, 
voluntarily,  but  afterwards  as  an  involuntary  power  or  habit. 
When  it  has  become  habitual,  the  bowels  will  notify  you  of 
the  time,  and  insist  upon  your  paying  attention.  It  is  the 
same  with  eating  and  drinking  :  if  you  eat  three  times 
daily,  you  will  be  hungry  at  those  regular  times  ;  but  if  you 
have  no  regular  time  for  eating,  hunger  will  not  come  till 
you  think  of  it.  To  think  of  food  as  of  something  loath- , 
some  will  kill  hunger.  To  break  in  upon  the  regularity  of 
a  habit  is  to  destroy  it.  To  pay  attention  to  anything  is  to 
become  its  slave.  Sexual  excesses  are  habits  of  thought, 
depending  upon  regularity  for  existence.  So  long  as  it  is  a 
habit,  it  will  demand  and  enforce  attention  ;  but  turn  the 
thought  to  something  else,  and  the  voice  of  the  habit  grad¬ 
ually  grows  weaker  and  weaker,  till  in  time  it  will  take  an 
effort  of  thought  and  the  conjuring  of  the  will  to  restore  it. 

Small  as  the  voluntary  powers  may  be — perhaps  a  mere 


THE  VOLUNTARY  AND  INVOLUNTARY  POWERS. 


161 


thought,  yet  it  is  all  there  is  of  us,  and  our  weal  and  woe 
depend  upon  their  use.  By  use  the  voluntary  becomes  the 
involuntary.  Absent-mindedness  is  indicative  of  the  sinking 
of  the  voluntary  into  the  involuntary.  Such  persons  are 
more  indifferent  to  outward'  thing's  than  those  who  are  al- 
ways  “wide-awake.”  This  is,  indeed,  the  beginning  of 
trance,  wherein  some  of  the  veiy  finest  orations  are 
delivered. 

This  “wide-awake”  life  is  a  mere  habit,  which  is 
destroyed  by  the  creation  of  another,  viz:  sleep.  Sleep  is 
a  closing  of  the  eyes  to  outward  things,  and  the  turning  of 
the  sight  inward.  It  is  the  same  in  trance  :  the  first  is  a 
sleep,  or  a  partial  sleep,  of  the  consciousness  ;  the  latter  is 
a  higher  degree  of  consciousness  :  for  the  full  wakefulness 
of  the  soul’s  powers  is  in  a  union  of  the  voluntary  with  the 
involuntary.  This  is  effected  by  magnetism,  and  sometimes 
in  natural  sleep  ;  then  we  have  somnambulism,  or  sleep¬ 
walking,  if  the  soul  is  unable  to  quit  the  body  ;  but  if  the 
soul  is  able  to  quit  the  body,  we  have  prophetic  visions,  or 
the  solving  of  difficult  problems,  or  the  visiting  of  distant 
places,  spirit- worlds,  etc.  But  in  whatever  way  sleep  or 
trance  may  be  induced,  it  produces  a  degree  of  insensibility 
in  the  body. 

The  deeper  the  sleep,  the  more  insensible  the  body 
becomes.  Mesmeric  sleep  is  next  to  death.  This  may  be 
self-induced,  or  through  the  agency  of  an  operator.  Calm¬ 
ness  and  tranquility  are  necessary  to  its  production,  the 
same  as  in  natural  sleep.  Calmness  allows  the  soul  to  ex¬ 
pand,  and  this  produces  sleep  and  trance,  wherein  the  body 
becomes  insensible.  But  there  are  two  ways  of  producing 
nervous  insensibility:  one  I  have  described  ;  the  .other  is 
through  increased  and  intense  activity  or  excitement.  Fits, 
in  which  sensibility  is  lost,  are  produced  by  excitement — 


162 


THE  VOLUNTARY  AND  INVOLUNTARY  POWERS. 


the  cause  sometimes  visible  or  known  (or,  at  least,  supposed 
to  be),  but  oftener  unknown. 

We  know  that  catalepsy,  common  to  Methodist  revivals, 
known  as  “the  power,”  is  induced  by  excitement.  Children 
fall  down  in  fits  through  the  excitement  of  fear.  In  intense 
anger  the  nerves  have  little  or  no  feeling.  Indeed,  there  is 
an  insanity  comes  through  anger  in  which  there  seems  to  be 
no  sympathy,  reason  or  feeling.  Many  a  man  has  been 
maimed,  wounded,  and  materially  injured  in  a  fight,  and 
not  been  the  least  sensible  of  it  till  the  excitement  was  over. 
So  long  as  the  tension  of  the  nerves  continues  there  is  no 
pain.  The  clenched  fist  of  an  angry  man  feels  nothing. 
The  Indian,  undergoing  untold  tortures  at  the  hands  of  his 
captors,  sings  his  war-song  and  laughs  in  the  face  of  his 
tormentors.  Michael  Servetus,  being  roasted  on  a  slow 
fire  made  of  green  wood,  by  John  Calvin,  composed  the 
following,  which  he  repeated  to  his  tormentor,  with  a  smile 
of  happiness  on  his  face  while  broiling  : 

“  This  side  enough  is  toasted  ; 

Turn  me,  tyrant,  and  eat  ; 

For,  whether  raw  or  roasted, 

I  am  the  better  meat.” 

The  Christian  martyrs,  while  being  burned  at  the  stake, 
sang,  prayed  and  exhorted  ;  assuring  the  bystanders  that  it 
was  pleasant  “  to  die  for  the  Lord.”  In  view  of  these  facts, 
and  what  we  know  of  ecstacy  and  the  insensibility  of  tho 
mesmerized  subject,  is  it  not  at  least  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  will  is  master  of  sensation  as  well  as  motion  ?  There 
is  no  pain  to  the  strong  will.  Many  a  man  has  endured 
surgical  operations  without  the  use  of  an  anaesthetic,  or 
being  bound,  and  with  not  a  movement  in  muscle  or  nerve. 
Now,  if  pain  can  be  partially  subdued  by  the  will  it  may 
be  wholly  so. 

A  man  is  made  many  times  stronger  and  many  times 


THE  VOLUNTARY  AND  INVOLUNTARY  POWERS. 


103 


more  enduring  by  excitement ;  but  the  deepest  and  most 
power- and-bealtb-producing  excitement  comes  from  tbe 
calming  of  passions  and  tbe  awakening  of  tbe  bigber  fac¬ 
ulties.  There  is  a  spiritual  excitement,  far  more  potent  and 
exhilarating  than  tbe  excitement  of  any  of  tbe  passions,  in 
which  ecstacy  is  passed  and  tbe  soul  escapes.  It  is  then 
that  these  bodies  are  proof  to  tbe  elements,  and  command 
tbe  respect  of  even  wild  beasts. 

Tbe  Rahat  of  India  seeks  some  jungle  or  lonely  place,  or 
some  dangerous  place  by  tbe  side  of  some  swamp  or  lagoon, 
infested  by  monstrous  reptiles,  where  man  fears  to  intrude  ; 
here  be  composes  himself  for  bis  meditations,  and  goes 
calmly  into  an  unconscious  state,  and  tbe  monsters  crawl 
out  and  lie  down  by  bis  side,  and  sleep  also.  Never  was  one 
known  to  be  harmed  by  them.  (See  Isis  Unveiled.) 

Is  not  this  tbe  same  power  by  which  Daniel  commanded 
the  respect  of  tbe  lions  in  their  den  ?  Tbe  full  power  of 
tbe  will  does  not  manifest  itself  in  our  normal  state  ;  there 
must  be  an  excitement  of  some  kind  in  order  to  call  into 
play  all  our  powers.  But  tbe  full  measure  of  power  is  not 
in  tbe  tension  of  tbe  nerves  and  muscles  ;  it  is  in  tbe  ten¬ 
sion  of  tbe  inner  man  or  spiritual  body.  This  is  not  a 
rousing  up  as  of  anger,  and  a  propulsion  of  tbe  spirit  out¬ 
ward,  but  rather  a  letting  go  of  tbe  nerves — a  resignation 
of  tbe  soul  as  in  sleep.  This  is  possible  only  in  habit. 

True  culture  gives  resignation,  which,  pushed  on  to  ex¬ 
tremes,  gives  power  to  withstand  fire.  Tbe  Acolyte  for  tbe 
Priesthood  of  Buddhism  must  possess  super-mundane  pow¬ 
ers  ere  be  can  be  admitted.  I  have  been  told  by  a  gentle¬ 
man  who  was  born  in  India,  and  lived  there  until  be  was 
twenty- one  years  of  age,  that  they  are  tested  when  they 
apply  for  Priesthood  by  being  required  to  walk  over  a  long 
bed  of  live  coals  of  fire  with  their  naked  feet,  and  to  do  it 
ivithout  hiuo'y,  and  to  come  off  at  tbe  other  end  without  a 


164 


THE  VOLUNTARY  AND  INVOLUNTARY  POWERS. 


singe  or  smell  of  lire ;  if  they  fail  they  are  not  admitted, 
but  are  sent  back  to  their  practice  of  meditative  rites. 

D.  D.  Home  is  one  instance  of  our  own  time  and  country 
who  has  manifested  this  power,  as  well  as  that  of  levitation, 
by  virtue  of  which  Jesus  walked  upon  the  water.  I  might 
multiply  facts  “  ad  infinitum ,”  if  it  were  the  intent  of  this 
work.  The  past  and  present  are  both  full  of  the  proof. 
Search  for  it, — not  alone  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  olden 
time,  but  in  the  living  testimony  of  the  present.  The  will 
is  a  magical  power  ;  but  its  highest  magic  is  in  letting  go. 

The  strong  well-balanced  man  accepts  things  as  they 
come  with  a  spirit  attuned  to  the  sweet  melodies  of  creative 
power  :  and  weeps  not  over  blighted  joys  or  withered  hopes. 
He  looks  above  and  beyond  these  things,  and  his  soul  is 
filled  with  rest  thereby.  He  does  not  essay  to  control  others, 
for  he  has  as  much  as  he  can  do  to  control  himself.  By  this 
means  he  converts  his  enemies  into  friends,  who  come  to 
him,  as  an  oracle,  for  counsel.  His  control  is  far  greater 
than  that  of  one  whose  whole  life  is  spent  in  trying  to  con¬ 
trol  others.  The  gigantic  evils  of  this  life  come  from  the 
desire  to  rule  others — or  to  make  others  do  as  you  wish 

them  to  do.  Counsel  is  far  better  than  rule.  Let  everv 

«/ 

one  do  as  they  like,  but  scatter  light  and  knowledge  of  the 
true  way  to  happiness  and  power. 

Reader,  if  you  have  lost  youth  and  happiness — let  go  l 
If  friends  have  proved  false  and  ungrateful  —  let  go !  If 
your  heart  is  torn  by  unrequited  love — let  go !  If  you  are 
poor — let  go !  If  you  are  wealthy — let  go !  If  Providence 
forsakes  you — let  go !  If  you  love  life — let  go !  If  you  are 
tired  of  life — let  go !  If  you  look  back  upon  your  life’s 
journey  with  regrets — let  go!  For  ‘'He  that  would  save 
his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he  that  would  lose  his  life  shall 
save  it.” 


CHAPTER  XV 


WILL-CULTURE. 

Let  him  who  aspires  to  power  commence  by  a  close  and 
critical  analysis  of  himself.  As  will  is  the  extraordinary 
of  man,  its  culture  is  the  culture  of  the  entire  man,  and 
the  regeneration  of  him — or  another  creation.  The  methods 
of  it  will  be  found  as  extraordinary  as  God  himself — for 
how  can  a  thing  cultivate  itself  without  God’s  help?  And 
God’s  methods  are  not  our  methods. 

The  three  great  principles  of  the  selfhood,  from,  by  and 
through  which  all  actions  come,  are  (1)  Love  ;  (2)  Imagina¬ 
tion  ;  (3)  Will.  The  Imagination  is  neutral,  as  indifference 
or  nature  ;  Will  is  masculine  ;  Love  is  feminine.  As  a  hus¬ 
bandman  must  till  the  soil  in  order  to  make  it  productive, 
so  must  a  man  culture  his  loves  in  order  to  the  production 
of  will-power.  As  a  slave  must  first  overcome  his  master 
before  he  can  be  free,  so  must  the  will  overcome  its  loves  : 
hence,  love  is  the  way  of  freedom,  of  regeneration,  and 
power. 

Self-analysis  shows  impurities  which  must,  as  a  primary 
step,  be  removed.  There  can  be  no  progress  without  vasta- 
tion.  The  old  habits,  vices,  follies,  modes  of  thought,  loves, 
hates,  envy,  jealousies,  covetousness,  fear,  pride  and  egotism 
must  all  die  and  be  buried  far  out  of  sight  as  a  preparatory 
step  to  soul-growth;  and  will  is  cultivated  and  made  strong 
in  the  subduing  of  those  things  which  limit  its  freedom  and 
power.  Purity  is  the  only  thing  that  cannot  be  destroyed; 
so,  the  purity  of  love,  will  and  wisdom  are  immortal. 


166 


WILL- CULTURE. 


It  is  only  the  semblance  of  real  things  which  die  or 
change;  hence,  that  which  is  supposed  to  be  real  love,  or 
real  will,  or  real  wisdom,  is  only  the  semblance  of  the  real, 
for  they  change  or  die.  So,  in  the  regeneration;  the  sem¬ 
blance  must  pass  away  to  give  place  to  the  real.  These 
bodies  are  mere  reflections  of  ourselves,  which  we,  seeing  in 
the  mirror  or  mirage  of  nature,  fall  in  love  with,  and 
embracing,  die. 

Now,  this  law  is  the  same  in  relation  to  sex-love— we  love 
the  reflex  of  ourselves  which  wre  see  in  the  mirror  called 
woman.  This  is  not  real  love,  for  its  operations  being 
dowmward,  we  propagate  only  our  kind,  or  conditions,  or 
emanations,  which  are  antagonistic  to  us;  while  real  love 
propagates  new  atoms — parts  of  a  divine  body,  unchangeable 
and  eternal  —its  operations  are  upward,  and  its  emanations 
mingle  in  the  essence  of  God. 

The  infinite  is  all  power,  and  it  is  man’s  field  of  opera¬ 
tion.  It  encompasses  him  round  about;  it  bends  to  him 
with  anything  he  asks  for;  but  we  must  work  for  what  we 
want.  “Not  every  one  that  saith,  Lord!  Lord!  shall  enter 
the  Kingdom;  but  he  that  doeth” — i.  e.,  he  that  worketh 
with  a  iv ill  in  the  right  direction.  Now  the  road  to  power 
is  in  the  perfection  of  our  nature,  which  is  in  the  at¬ 
tainment  of  duality  first.  I  have  already  spoken  of  ideal 
love,  of  its  conception,  growth  and  union,  or  marriage 
in  the  spirit.  Now,  the  true  methods  of  will-culture  have 
for  their  object  growth.  Soul -growth  is  inward  or  a 
letting  go  of  outward  things,  and  a  looking  forward  to  the 
realization  of  a  true  life  in  which  true  love  appears  as  one 
with  the  will,  or  the  female  united  to  the  male  in  real 
durable  oneness  of  being,  or  marriage. 

There  can  be  no  union  of  objects;  therefore,  man  and 
woman,  being  separated  entities,  are  not  one — neither  can 
be — on  this  earth :  hence,  marriage  is  a  semblance  or  type 


WILL -CULTURE. 


167 


of  a  reality ,  or  changeless  condition.  A  union  of  two  in 
one,  or  two  in  spirit.  This  will  be  more  fully  set  forth  in 
the  Chapter  on  Gifts  of  the  Spirit.  Harmony  must  be  first 
had  in  the  individual  ere  it  can  be  effected  with  another, 
and  for  this  reason  a  lifetime  of  effort  or  culture  is  neces¬ 
sary,  in  which  things  inharmonious  or  at  variance  with  each 
other  are  to  be  avoided. 

Owing  to  the  inharmonies  of  marriage  (and  the  loss  of 
power  therein)  the  Essenes  and  Rosicrucians  of  old  dis¬ 
carded  marriage  as  something  unreal,  and  lived  lives  of 
celibacy.  For  this  reason  the  Buddhistic  and  Catholic 
priesthood  are  not  permitted  to  marry.  Furtner  reasons 
are  set  forth  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  sin,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred.  In  order  to  destroy  that  which  retards 
the  soul  in  its  flights,  viz:  sin,  its  opposite  or  antagonist, 
must  be  strengthened;  to  this  end  the  whole  mind  must  be 
given  up  to  the  contemplation  of  such  things  as  make  the 
soul  sick  and  disgusted  with  sin. 

This  creates  another  emotion  antagonistic  to  love,  viz: 
feelings  of  disgust  at  that  which  the  world  is  mad  after. 
Love  is  an  emotion.  Will  is  motion ,  but  love  is  &  reflex  of 
it,  or  an  emotion ,  or  wo-man ,  because  emotions  ruin  the  will 
or  the  man  in  leading  it  into  captivity.  The  object  of  love 
is  to  join  itself  to  the  will  in  order  to  increase  power  to 
enjoy,  as  a  loving  wife  wTorks  for  and  delights  in  the 
happiness  of  her  husband.  So  woman  should  not  unite 
with  man  save  for  the  purpose  of  begetting  life ,  spirit , 
power.  In  true  marriage,  according  to  the  divine  intention 
of  it,  there  are  no  children;  and  no  disease;  neither  do 
they  die. 

To  have  an  ideal  elevated,  pure  and  full  of  rest  and 
unalloyed  pleasure,  is  to  have  the  pain  of  disappointment  in 
realization.  It  is  to  kindle  a  consuming  fire  at  your  very 
vitals,  which  you  are  obliged  to  quench  by  the  will,  because 


168 


WILL -CULTURE. 


no  heart  answers  your  heart-throbs ;  because  all  fall  short  of 
your  ideal  love — this  it  is  for  him  to  suffer  who  aspires  to 
be  something  more  than  the  common.  There  is  no  great¬ 
ness  not  born  of  pain,  and  there  is  no  pain  greater  than 
that  of  a  heart  bruised;  so  soft  is  it,  and  flexible,  that  it 
will  not  break. 

Sexual  love  has  the  strongest  hold  of  any  of  the  passions; 
it  is  the  hardest  for  the  will  to  turn  from  its  lust.  The 
effort  to  idealize  love  in  the  imagination  is  analogous  to 
that  of  the  libertine  and  debauchee — only  one  is  chaste 
while  the  other  is  impure.  The  onanist  sees  in  his  imagina¬ 
tion  the  object  of  his  lust,  and  thus  acting  upon  his 
emotions  pollutes  himself.  It  is  the  same  with  the  liber¬ 
tine.  These  emotions  that  destroy  power  and  the  soul  are 
created  by  an  inward  action;  and  in  proportion  to  the 
power  of  concentration  is  the  spirit  drawn  within,  condensed 
and  projected,  and  thus  the  life,  spirit  and  power  thrown 
away.  But  this  wasted  virility,  though  lost  to  the  man,  is 
not  lost  in  nature,  for  it  is  a  protoplasm  from  which  spring 
infusoria,  worms,  insects,  reptiles,  etc.,  which  are  a  curse  to 
the  earth  and  mankind.  Your  ideal  love  may  not  be  a  very 
near  approach  to  true  love;  but  your  highest  conception  of 
womanly  beauty,  purity,  goodness,  truth,  grace  and  excel¬ 
lence,  coupled  with  form  and  action,  is  your  estimate  of  it, 
and  as  such  is  your  kingdom  of  power  towards  which  you 
grow  rapidly  or  slowly  as  the  case  may  be. 

Control  must  begin  at  home — in  the  selfhood.  But 
how,  or  in  what  manner,  can  a  thing  culture  and  control 
itself?  How  can  the  will  regulate  its  own  action?  Firstly, 
then,  the  will  is  the  nearest  approach  to  freedom  of  any¬ 
thing  we  know  of;  love  is  limited  by  the  sensibilities;  wis¬ 
dom,  by  that  which  we  learn;  but  will,  being  free  from 
emotion,  is  free  to  produce  emotions  according  to  its  love 
and  wisdom.  So,  love  and  wisdom  are  the  shackles  of  the 


WILL -CULTURE. 


1G9 


will.  Note,  ice  do  not  control  that  which  we  love;  that 
which  we  love  controls  us.  Hence  the  necessity  of  subduing 
love  as  the  beginning  of  the  road  to  power.  We  do  not 
destroy  love,  but  wTe  wean  it  from  sensuous  objects.  Thus 
weaned,  it  becomes  at  one  wTith  the  will  in  its  freedom,  and 
the  flights  of  the  soul.  This  is  the  At-one-ment — (Atone¬ 
ment.)  Love  cannot  be  purified.  “  There  is  no  impure 
love,”  said  P.  B.  Randolph.  What  we  call  purifying  love 
is  merely  the  vastating  of  piretenses.  Love  itself  is  honest; 
but  this  world’s  love  is  in  pretending  to  be  what  wTe  are 
not.  It  is  the  shame,  which,  in  order  to  hide,  God  clothed 
Adam  and  Eve  in  the  skins  of  animals.  If  all  the  shame 
were  removed  from  mankind,  the  little  love  left  would  be 
very  small  indeed. 

Will-culture  is  a  thing  altogether  antagonistic  to  general 
religious  ideas;  for  the  will  is  generally  considered  of  the 
“  evil  one” — to  be  broken  and  crushed.  With  this  idea  I 
am  at  variance.  We  have  far  too  little  power,  and  to 
increase  in  it  is  the  acme  of  all  religion.  It  is  the  false 
direction  of  power  wherein  evil  exists,  not  in  the  power 
itself.  To  enlighten  the  mind,  then,  or  to  culture  the 
imagination,  is  to  control  man’s  creative  powers  or  loves  and 
guide  them  in  the  right  direction. 

All  culture  must  begin  at  home.  Begin  by  a  reconstruct¬ 
ion  of  yourself.  If  you  feel  that  you  are  superior  to  others, 
disabuse  yourself  of  that  idea  at  once.  In  arrogance  there 
is  no  growth  of  the  soul.  To  feel  as  you  really  are,  is  to 
feel  very  weak  and  very  small.  In  order  to  rise  above  the 
common  level,  you  must  be  real.  To  feel  equal  is  to  feel 
real  and  to  be  real.  Let  every  man  have  his  opinions  in 
freedom — the  rights  you  claim,  freely  grant  to  others. 
Thus  you  pluck  the  motes  out  of  your  eye.  Judge  no  man, 
for  you  know  not  their  motives.  The  freedom  you  claim 
for  yourself,  that  grant  to  others,  even  in  thought  and  feel- 


170 


WILL -CULTURE. 


ing — for  freedom  is  tlie  principle  of  growth — the  first  and 
the  last,  and  the  only  principle  in  existence.  Now  he  who 
is  bound  by  love,  hate,  or  any  passion  whatever,  is  not  free. 
How  can  he  expect  to  have  power? 

Power  only  comes  by  freedom.  To  be  free,  then, 
necessitates  a  cutting  loose  of  the  bonds  of  slavery.  To 
love  nothing,  to  hate  nothing,  to  have  no  likes  or  dislikes, 
to  have  no  prejudices,  no  tastes,  no  preferences — this  it  is 
to  be  free.  The  little  power  we  have  comes  from  freedom. 
Now  let  him,  who  expects  to  culture  his  will,  bear  in  mind 
this  fact — that  it  cannot  be  done  for  a  selfish  or  mercenary 
purpose.  I  am  aware  that  one  part  of  it,  viz:  firmness  and 
self-esteem  may  be  cultivated  and  increased,  but  it  is  not 
real  culture  of  the  will  after  all,  but  a  throwing  out  of 
balance  of  the  will,  which  is  destructive  in  the  main. 

All  power,  to  be  lasting,  must  descend  from  the  higher 
to  the  lower,  as  a  baptism ;  and  this  descent  is  accomplished 
by  and  through  the  feminine  of  will — viz :  Continuity.  The 
second  act  of  will  is  in  the  propulsion  of  force  into  the 
nerve — as  in  grasping  of  the  hand  or  in  striking  of  a  blow. 
But  the  first  effort  of  will  is  in  the  gathering  together  of 
force  before  striking.  The  latter  is  an  expansion  act,  like 
the  inflation  of  the  lungs;  the  former  is  an  exhaustive  act, 
as  the  expiration  of  the  breath. 

Now  the  first,  or  primal ,  or  foundation  of  all  power  is 
inflation.  This  is  concentration,  and  involves  the  exercise 
of  continuity.  The  greater  the  concentration,  the  greater 
will  be  the  power  manifested — either  in  physical,  or  in 
mental,  or  in  spiritual  effort.  Now,  in  making  a  great 
physical  effort,  there  must  be  a  stimulant  or  an  excitement, 
in  order  to  a  manifestation  of  the  full  power  of  the 
individual.  This  excitement,  of  course,  is  a  mental  effort 
in  which  the  mind  expands  to  its  utmost  tension  of  energy, 
or  feeling,  or  want  of  feeling,  in  which  a  resolution  is 


WILL-CULTURE. 


m 


formed,  born  or  begotten,  and  the  nerves  and  muscles  are 
braced  up — filled  to  overflowing  with  force. 

The  whole  person  expands ,  as  a  prospective  mother,  and. 
is  eager  to  deliver  itself  of  its  superabundant  force,  energy 
or  burden.  When  full  to  overflowing  with  anger,  love  or 
any  passion,  we  are  eager  to  express  it:  but  the  first  effort 
is  to  be  full.  This  is  a  mental  effort  in  which  the  will  gets 
its  excitement  from  the  dwelling  upon  wrongs ,  or  love ,  in 
the  imagination.  Now,  this  “  brooding”  over  wrongs,  or 
dwelling  in  thought  upon  things  involves  the  exercise  of 
continuity.  From  this  it  is  known  that  the  real  power  of 
will  comes  from  the  feminine  part  of  it,  viz :  concentrativeness 
or  continuity. 

It  is  also  evident  that  the  more  one  believes  in  the  reality 
of  the  wrong  or  love,  the  fuller  they  will  become  of  love  or 
anger,  and  the  power  of  its  manifestation  will  be  propor¬ 
tionally  greater.  Now,  this  is  exactly  the  case  in  all  occult 
or  spiritual  power.  The  excitement  of  the  will  comes  from 
its  dwelling  upon  an  idea  or  an  object  to  be  attained  and 
in  the  resisting  of  the  excitement  of  the  passions.  In  fact, 
the  culture  of  the  will  is  in  the  alternate  excitement  of  the 
passions,  and  in  subduing  the  same  without  expression. 

For  instance:  Some  one  wrongs  you  a  little;  you  seize 
upon,  it  as  if  it  were  a  sweet  and  delicious  morsel,  and  by 
constantly  thinking  of  it  in  its  most  aggravating  features, 
and  by  dwelling  upon  it,  you  work  yourself  into  a  mental 
fever  in  wdiich  you  feel  like  “knocking  down,”  “kicking,” 
“  shooting,”  and  “  dragging  out,” — but  you  do  no  such 
thing;  but  before  your  passion  is  too  strong  for  you,  you 
turn  your  mind  to  another  feature  of  the  wrong,  and  begin 
to  look  upon  it  as  not  quite  so  hideous,  after  all,  and 
gradually  it  grows  less  and  less,  as  the  excitement  cools 
down. 


172 


WILL -CULTURE. 


You  have  not  manifested  this  to  the  world,  but  it  has  had 
an  effect  upon  you.  Your  will  power  has  grown  in  the 
exercise.  Physical  power  grows  by  manifestation,  but 
spiritual  power,  by  silently  suppressing  or  repressing  it. 
If  you  express  your  power  physically,  it  is  lost  to  you 
spiritually.  Hence  the  motto:  “  Silence  is  strength.” 

In  thus  exciting  yourself,  and  then  controlling  yourself, 
you  are  creating  power,  as  well  as  teaching  the  involuntary 
powers  obedience.  After  practicing  for  a  while  this  exercise, 
you  will  find  you  are  becoming  very  excitable,  and  you  can 
excite  yourself  even  without  any  outward  provocation.  A  jeal¬ 
ous  person  can  easily  become  half  crazy  about  nothing.  In 
this  manner  you  learn  how  to  create  emotions  of  a  low  order 
first,  and  then  you  gradually  step  up  to  emotions  of  a 
higher  order,  such  as  mirth,  love,  pity,  rapture;  but  of  all 
creative  emotions,  that  of  love  transcends  all  else. 

To  gaze  at  a  dead  body  with  worms  crawling  in  and  out, 
and  look  at  it  as  human,  and  think  that  that  is  the  end  of 
all  flesh,  and  that  you  will  be  the  same  in  a  short  time, 
disgusts  one  fearfully  with  the  follies  of  life,  and  tames  the 
passions  of  any  man  who  thinks  at  all.  This  helps  the 
will  to  gain  the  ascendency;  but  after  seeing  it  once  or 
twice,  you  can  see  it  in  your  mind  at  any  time,  and  thus 
subdue  all  low  and  unworthy  thoughts  and  feelings— this 
strengthens  the  will.  “  He  who  keeps  death  in  view  seldom 
does  a  wrong.” 

The  will  that  cannot  create  emotions  by  its  own  effort  is 
weak:  it  needs  a  stimulant.  To  keep  your  heart  young 
and  full  of  tenderness  and  love  for  your  companion,  think 
of  her  as  when  you  wooed  and  won  her.  To  destroy  your 
love,  think  of  it  in  connection  with  something  disgusting 
and  low,  and  it  will  speedily  die;  but  do  not  be  deceived; 
some  things  die  very  hard.  Habits  take  hold  of  the  vitals. 
Many  who  read  these  lines  may  be  able  to  see  what  they 


WILL-CULTURE. 


173 


desire  in.  the  mind  without  physical  contact.  Such  can 
develop  power  rapidly. 

Others,  again,  will  need  some  aggravating  circumstances 
to  stir  the  emotions.  To  provoke  another  to  anger  with 
words,  looks  and  gestures,  and  then  subdue  yourself  with 
a  thought,  and  control  and  subdue  the  other  by  the  creations 
of  mirth  or  grief,  is  a  good  exercise,  but  a  dangerous 
one. 

Who  can  stand  and  calmly  take  a  blow  without  resent¬ 
ment  ?  But  it  was  in  view  of  this  same  subject  that  Jesus 
said:  “If  a  man  smite  you  on  one  cheek,  turn  the  other 
also.”  Habits  are  hereditary  as  well  as  acquired.  They, 
like  diseases,  are  hard  to  cure.  All  habits  of  the  ordinary 
man  tend  outward,  and  hence  are  weakening.  To  be  more 
than  ordinary,  work  against  habits.  This  is  done  only  by 
creating  other  and  opposite  habits. 

“Does  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out!”  or  train  it 
not  to  see  objects  external,  by  turning  it  inwardly.  Per¬ 
haps  you  are  fond  of  some  particular  article  of  diet — you 
love  the  taste  of  it.  Pork,  for  instance.  You  first  satisfy 
yourself  that  it  feeds  scrofula  and  the  humors  of  the  blood, 
and  you  desire  to  leave  it  off.  You  go  to  work  to  kill  the 
taste  for  it  by  becoming  disgusted  mentally  with  the  thing 
you  delight  in.  It  is  done  by  meditation  thus:  Imagine  a 
stomach  filled  with  flesh  fermenting  and  working  like 
maggots  in  carrion.  Flesh  in  the  stomach,  as  in  the  sun, 
becomes  putrid.  It  is  nothing  but  a  bit  of  corpse  dressed 
and  cooked,  that  I  am  eating.  Behold  the  market!  hung 
round  and  round  with  corpses,  not  unlike  my  own,  if  it  were 
dressed  like  these.  A  little  while  ago  they  were  moving, 
living  beings,  like  myself.  I  know  that  I  become  like  that 
upon  which  I  feed.  See  the  swine!  the  scavenger  of  the 
filth  of  living  things;  what  a  loathsome  object !  and  I  am 


174 


WILL -CULTURE. 


Ms  scavenger.  “  I  am  naught  but  a  sepulchre  full  of  rotten 
flesh.” 

Behold  the  butcher!  A  living  corpse  cutting  up  dead 
ones!  while  others  stand  eagerly  looking  on,  with  mouths 
watering  like  dogs  for  the  feast  of  rottenness.  See  the 
carts  laden  with  corpses! — hurrying  away  to  the  meat 
shops — yet  warm  with  life,  holding  up  their  naked,  muti¬ 
lated  limbs  in  mute  appeals  to  heaven  against  the  horrid 
butchery!  while  a  demon  in  human  form  sits  driving  to 
the  charnel  house. 

By  such  thoughts  persisted  in,  the  taste  changes,  and 
the  stomach  heaves  at  the  sight  or  thought  which  we  con¬ 
jure  in  regard  to  food  or  anything  else.  Thought  is  sight, 
feeling,  tasting,  smelling,  etc.,  all  in  one.  The  taste  changes, 
as  our  thoughts  change  in  regard  to  it.  Just  so  with  all 
the  passions. 

There  is  no  virtue  where  there  is  no  temptation;  no  merit 
where  there  is  no  dismerit ;  no  grace  where  there  is  no  sin ; 
no  power  where  there  are  no  obstacles.  The  greater  the 
obstacle  overcome,  the  greater  the  glory  of  the  achievement. 
The  filthiest  thing  contains  the  most  life;  but  this  life  is 
worthless  till  utilized. 

The  will  is  the  husbandman,  who,  if  needs  be,  drains  his 
ground,  enriches,  plows,  harrows,  plants  and  cultivates  his 
crop.  If  he  be  not  slothful,  he  shall,  according  to  nature’s 
laws,  reap  his  harvest.  So  with  the  aspirant  to  power;  he 
must  prepare  his  body,  his  blood  must  be  filtered,  and  the 
acids  and  alkalis  harmonized,  and  the  flesh  made  soft,  sweet 
and  glowing.  Drugs  will  not  do  this.  The  body  must  be 
reached  through  the  mind,  or  not  at  all. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  imagination  affects  the 
body.  Fear,  disgust,  and  in  fact,  all  the  passions  have  an 
effect  upon  the  blood.  One  may  accelerate  the  action  of 
the  heart,  while  another  retards  it.  All  the  passions  get 


WILL-CULTURE. 


175 


their  excitement  from  the  imagination.  So,  the  imagination 
is  the  connecting  link  between  the  body  and  the  soul.  It 
is  the  door  between  the  visible  and  the  invisible  worlds  of 
sense.  To  purify  the  body,  then,  the  will  must  affect  it 
through  the  imagination.  The  imagination  corrupts  the 
blood;  why  may  it  not  purify  it  as  well?  That  we  do  not 
know  how  this  is  done  is  no  argument  against  this  proposi¬ 
tion.  Love  tinges  the  cheek  with  the  glow  of  magnetic 
health;  fear  congeals  the  blood;  disgust  produces  neuralgia, 
and  lust  produces  consumption.  Hate  dries  up  and  coagu¬ 
lates  the  humors ;  covetousness  produces  dyspepsia, — and  so 
'on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

Every  passion,  and  even  thought  and  reason  have  their 
roots  in  the  imagination.  The  effect  that  things  have  upon 
us  depends  upon  the  way  they  are  looked  at.  Beauty  and 
deformity  spring  alike  from  the  imagination.  We  receive 
the  spirit  of  a  thing  by  looking  at  it — smelling,  tasting, 
hearing — and  more  than  all,  by  thinking  of  it.  W e  get  the 
grossness  of  food  by  eating  it,  but  the  real  life  of  it  is 
extracted  by  the  thoughts  we  have  of  it.  In  other  words 
the  ideas  we  have  in  regard  to  the  quality  and  use  of  food 
impart  to  it  something  akin  to  themselves. 

Thus  the  body  may  be  gradually  changed  by  diet;  not 
so  much  by  quality  as  by  quantity ;  for  the  will  imparts  any 
desired  quality. 

A  very  sensitive  person  suffers  nausea  by  the  sight  of 
that  which  is  loathsome — to  conjure  that  thing  up  in  the 
imagination  has  the  same  effect.  Many  a  person  is  afflicted 
with  dyspepsia  and  other  disorders  from  a  settled  conviction 
of  the  inevitableness  of  it.  The  idea  that  you  will  cure 
yourself  is  better  than  medicine.  The  idea  that  you  will 
eat  simply  because  you  are  obliged  to  do  so  in  order  to  live, 
and  not  for  the  pleasure  of  eating ,  is  better  in  reality  than 
food  or  fasting;  but  to  eat,  drink  and  love  for  the  sole 


176 


WILL -CULTURE. 


object  of  attaining  immortal  power,  and  not  for  the  sen¬ 
suous  gratification  of  the  appetites  or  passions,  is  to  work 
upon  the  mind,  blood,  body  and  spirit  as  God  works — down¬ 
ward.  This  downward  operation  eliminates  the  grossness, 
and  leaves  the  essences  or  life  for  your  use. 

Remember  this  simple  thing  :  All  impurities  are  a  result 
of  compounding ,  or  of  combining  different  substances , 
fluids ,  magnetisms  and  spirits  in  one.  Purity  is  oneness. 
The  simpler  the  diet  the  better  ;  one  thing  is  better  than 
three,  four  or  a  dozen.  Never  eat  for  pleasure,  and  eat  only 
when  hungry,  and  stop  while  still  hungry.  To  test  your 
power  of  will,  think  of  something  sickening  as  you  gaze 
upon  your  food  ;  if  your  stomach  rejects  the  food  from  that 
cause,  you  have  no  need  of  any  more  food  at  that  time — 
cease  eating  at  once.  If  you  drop  your  knife,  fork  or  spoon, 
or  have  any  such  mishap  at  the  table,  cease  eating.  Never 
think  how  your  food  tastes,  and  never  indulge  in  talk  and 
laughter  while  eating  ;  let  your  thoughts  be  fixed  upon  the 
object  to  be  attained,  whether  it  be  the  elimination  of  dis¬ 
ease,  grossness,  bad  habits,  etc.,  or  the  building  up  of  the 
dual  divine  nature  wherein  all  power  resides. 

The  one  great  curse  of  civilization  (?)  is  gormandizing. 
We  need  very  little  food  if  the  truth  were  known  ;  just 
enough  should  be  taken  into  the  stomach  to  form  a  nucleus 
of  attraction  for  the  spirit  to  materialize  itself,  or  condense 
and  form  new  particles  of  blood,  nerve  and  flesh.  Behold  ! 
the  miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  as  an  illustration  of  this 
principle.  Food  multiplies  itself  in  the  half-filled  stomach, 
when  it  is  left  vacant  from  a  principle  ;  but  when  the  stom¬ 
ach  is  full  there  is  no  room  for  multiplication  or  condensa¬ 
tion  to  take  place,  and  a  filthy,  rotting,  destructive  process 
takes  the  place  of  divine  and  life-improving  process. 

The  life  of  the  body  comes  from  the  spirit,  and  not 
wholly  from  the  food  we  take  in  at  the  mouth  ;  of  course, 


WILL -CULTURE. 


177 


the  full  stomach  crowds  the  spirit  out,  and  there  is  no  room 
left  for  the  action  of  the  spirit  therein.  Besides,  the  spirit 
feeds  upon  that  which  is  in  harmony  with  it  in  if  s  passage 
to  and  from,  and  radiation  aroun'd  the  body,  and  passing 
into  the  body  deposits  therein  that  life  which  it  has  accu¬ 
mulated. 

Look  at  Dr.  Tanner,  fasting  forty  days  !*  Look  at  the 
fast  of  Jesus  for  forty  days  !  and  then  behold  Gautama 
Buddiia,  living  seven  years  alone  in  the  forests  of  Thibet, 
subsisting  wholly  upon  berries  and  roots  ;  and  at  last  throw¬ 
ing  himself  at  the  foot  of  “  the  sacred  Bodhi  tree,”  vowed 
that  he  would  not  again  taste  food  until  he  had  achieved 
his  object,  viz,  the  attainment  of  supernatural  energy ;  and 
then,  when  so  weak  with  the  long  fast  that  he  could  no 
longer  stand  upon  his  feet,  the  “Dewas”  (celestial  beings) 
came  and  fed  and  nursed  him.  Did  he  attain  his  object  ? 


*Says  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder  of  Orange,  N.  J.,  in  a  letter  to  me  after 
the  first  edition  of  this  work  was  published  : 

“I  notice  that  you  mention  Dr.  Tanner.  I  watched  with  him  sev¬ 
eral  times,  and  was  present  at  the  end.  Of  the  genuineness  of  the 
matter  there  is  not  room  for  two  opinions.  No  man  willing  to  be  can¬ 
did  can  possibly  doubt  the  evidence.  That  ‘  Science  gained  nothing  by 
it  ’  (as  often  asserted),  was  solely  because  the  men  who  dictate  what 
shall  be  regarded  as  science,  determined  in  advance  that  no  observation 
or  fact  ascertained  should  be  accepted.  Yet  enough  was  observed  in 
1880,  to  have  preserved  the  life  of  Gen.  Garfield  in  1881,  if  it  had  been 
put  to  use.  *  *  *  I  was  somewhat  disappointed  in  my  observation 

of  Dr.  Tanner  Having  read  of  trances,  ecstatic  visions,  and  intimate 
communications  with  the  interior  world,  in  connection  with  prolonged 
fasts,  I  hoped  to  witness  something  of  the  sort  now.  I  did  not.  His 
mind  was  always  clear,  but  his  temper  was  somewhat  irritable.  The 
senses  became  exquisitely  keen.  For  15  days  he  drank  nothing  ;  he 
was  a  distressed  sight.  He  actually  gained  weight  for  a  day  or  two 
after  resuming.  But  he  was  very  sensitive  ;  he  could  ill  tolerate 
Croton  water  and  went  daily  to  a  spring  in  Central  Park  for  a  supply. 
He  also  complained  of  the  air  at  Clarendo:  Hall — very  justly.  The 


178 


WILL-CULTURE. 


Look  at  the  results  and  then  judge.  He  lived  about  five 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  and  died  when  he  got  ready, 
(at  the  age  of  eighty  years) ;  founding  the  greatest  religion 
that  man  has  ever  known,  whose  adherents  numbered  a  few 
years  ago  the  enormous  figure  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  millions,  and  that  without  violence  or  bloodshed. 
(See  “Hardy’s  Eastern  Monachism.”) 

Those  who  eat  the  least  have  the  best  health  and  last  the 
longest.  Life  is  sustained  more  from  the  atmosphere  and 
electricity  than  from  the  solid  food  taken  into  the  stomach. 
It  is  the  essence  of  things  which  is  of  greatest  value,  and 
the  essence  is  not  limited  to  the  solid  substance,  but  radiates 
round  about  as  its  aura — -intangible  to  our  dull  senses,  but 
nevertheless  existing.  It  is  upon  the  aura  of  things  that 
the  spirit  feeds,  and  according  to  the  attractive  ^>ower  of  the 
soul  is  its  pasture.  So  long  as  the  spirit  is  fat  it  will  feed 
the  body. 

The  glutton  has  a  weak,  lean,  hungry  spirit,  and  little 
will-power.  The  diseased  forms  which  meet  the  eye  at 


spectators  would  have  worn  me  out ;  how  he  endured  them  I  cannot 
well  surmise.  Yet  several  individuals  did  remark  a  loss  of  strength 
after  being  near  him.  This  fact  of  the  fast  is  not  so  very  remarkable. 
But  for  our  abominable  materialism  we  could  easily  perceive  the  mat¬ 
ter.  Griscom,  in  Chicago,  fasted  45  days.  The  Hindoo  Fakirs  and 
others  do  the  same.  Perhaps  the  powers  most  valuable  are  hidden. 
We  make  too  much  account  of  meat  and  drink,  and  far  too  little  of  the 
forces  about  us  that  transcend  these.  A  tree  will  grow  and  not  exhaust 
the  soil  materially.  A  coral  reef  is  a  mass  of  lime  gathered  where  no 
lime  is.  A  chick  in  the  egg  gets  a  skeleton  from  substance  that  chem¬ 
istry  does  not  reveal  the  existence  of.  The  diatomes  built  a  mass  of 
flinty  stone  under  Petersburg,  in  Virginia.  I  opine  that  living  things 
transmute  forces  into  matters,  by  changing  their  polarity,  so  that  the 
problem,  imputed  incorrectly  to  the  alchemists,  of  transmutation,  is 
solved  by  the  living  beings  of  this  earth.  *  *  *  There  is  a  brother¬ 

hood  of  true  men,  and  they  recognize  each  other  by  a  pass-word,  more 
expressive  than  any  symbolism  of  a  society.  *  *  *  ” 


WILL-CULTURE. 


179 


every  turn,  are  evidence  of  weak,  small,  spiritless  will — and 
collapsed  and  angular  souls.  They  present  a  ravenous  mul¬ 
titude,  a  standing  mockery  of  nature,  and  a  clamorous 
rebuke  of  the  wisdom  of  an  infinite  Creator.  When  dis¬ 
eased,  in  pain  and  trouble,  how  nice  it  is  to  lay  the  blame 
on  fate,  nature  or  God.  But  if  we  would  only  stop  and 
think  that  we  have  to  suffer  from  the  malignity  or  mistakes 
of  the  relentless  power  which  compels  us  to  exist,  and  that 
no  prayers  are  answered  save  those  of  the  will,  we  would 
philosophically  shoulder  the  power  to  be  as  much  as  to  do 
and  to  suffer. 

We  could  then  see  clearly  that  the  diseases,  failures  and 
mistakes,  ascribed  to  fate,  are  due  to  our  own  ignorance, 
weakness,  and  headstrong  folly.  We  have  to  bear  the  con¬ 
sequences  of  our  acts — why  not  claim  the  credit  of  causa¬ 
tion  ?  So  long  as  we  can  ascribe  our  acts  to  circumstances, 
nature,  fate  or  God,  we  trust  to  luck  and  drift  like  bubbles 
upon  the  frothing  deep — -effortless. 

It  takes  effort  to  accumulate  property  ;  it  takes  effort  to 
be  a  man  under  all  circumstances  ;  but  it  costs  no  effort  to 
be  a  beggar  or  a  knave.  This  has  become  so  common  that 
it  has  given  rise  to  the  trite  saying,  that  “  man  is  prone  to 
do  evil  as  the  sparks  are  to  fly  upward.”  It  is  far  easier  to 
fall  than  to  climb  ;  but  it  hurts  fearfully  at  the  bottom.  The 
labor  of  climbing  is  pleasant  after  you  get  used  to  it ;  for 
the  higher  you  climb  the  more  vigorous  you  become,  and 
the  purer  the  atmosphere.  Why  ?  Because  the  climber  is 
ascending  towards  life,  while  he  wdio  falls  is  descending 
towards  pain,  disease,  weakness,  darkness,  death  and  non¬ 
entity.  W" ill -culture  is  the  royal  ladder,  anchored  in  God’s 
throne,  and  reaching  to  every  soul. 

You  cannot  carry  much  grossness,  either  of  body,  mind, 
or  spirit,  up  that  ladder.  Grossness  is  always  positive,  and 
very  difficult  to  become  negative.  But  the  greater  the  gross- 


180 


WILL- CULTURE. 


ness,  the  greater  the  power  when  the  victory  is  won.  Paul 
understood  this.  He  says,  in  substance :  “  Where  sin 

abounds,  grace  doth  much  more  abound.”  I  have  already 
explained  the  reason.  It  takes  a  great  soul  to  excel  in  any¬ 
thing.  Great  criminals  are  always  men  of  greatness,  mis¬ 
directed. 

The  mind  is  a  wandering  vagrant ;  like  the  eye,  it  wan¬ 
ders  restlessly  in  quest  of  new  things.  But  “  let  your  eye 
be  single,”  and  your  mind  will  follow  after.  Look  steadily 
at  a  speck  on  the  wall — think  steadily  of  one  thing — and 
gradually  there  steals  over  you  strange  sensations,  as  clouds 
and  flashes  of  light  pass  before  your  vision.  To  make  the 
mind  single— as  an  eye  with  the  motes  plucked  out  sees  only 
one  object— limit  the  range  of  thought.  In  this  you  are 
drawing  the  mind  to  a  focus  preparatory  to  elongation.  As 
the  eye  with  dust  therein  sees  nothing  distinctly,  so  the 
mind  untrained  has  no  focus,  no  depth,  no  clairvoyance  ;  it 
wanders  in  a  maze  of  error. 

To  call  its  scattered  forces  together  is  a  herculean  task, 
but  it  is  small  compared  to  the  focusing  of  the  spirit.  As 
involuntary  powers  follow  the  lead  of  the  voluntary — as  the 
mind  follows  the  direction  of  the  eye,  being  fixed  when  the 
eye  is  fixed — so  spirit  obeys  the  will.*  Agitation  of  the  body 
disturbs  the  mind  ;  agitation  of  the  mind  distracts  and  con¬ 
fuses  the  spirit,  so  that  the  will  is  deprived  of  its  means  to 
execute.  Hence  the  necessity  of  calmness. 

Continuity  is  that  which  produces  rest  and  satisfaction, 
as  the  love  of  a  woman.  It  is  the  feminine  of  will,  and 
creates  by  persistent  effort.  In  deep,  profound  meditation, 
the  soul  becomes  pregnant  with  greatness,  for  the  spirit,  no 
longer  driven  from  the  soul  by  outward  motions  and  emo¬ 
tions,  slowly  comes  home  to  the  soul,  being  called  in  and 
projected  upward  and  inward.  As  spirit  is  fire,  or  that  which 
produces  fire,  there  is  heat  produced  by  its  accumulation, 


WILL-CULTURE. 


181 


which  in  time  blazes  forth,  at  first  soft  and  mild,  in  great 
sheets  of  light,  afterwards  as  the  forked  lightning.  This 
light  is  life,  which  feeds  the  spirit  body,  and  gives  it  strength 
and  growth. 

It  is  in  this  turning  within,  this  meditation,  that  the 
positive  will  becomes  the  negative;  and  when  pushed  to 
extremes,  total  abstraction  or  forgetfulness  follows;  this  is 
Trance.  In  trance  the  angels  and  celestial  spirits  are 
attracted,  for  the  whole  universe  of  spirit  impinges  upon  the 
soul,  by  virtue  of  its  attractive  power.  The  Heavens  are 
opened,  and  there  is  nothing  hid  from  the  truly  great  will. 
•It  pierces  to  any  centre  of  power,  energy,  love,  or  knowl¬ 
edge,  and  drags  therefrom  its  secrets. 

This  is  indeed  the  closet  wherein  Jesus  told  his  disciples 
to  enter  when  they  prayed;  and  to  pray  in  secret,  not  letting 
the  right  hand  know  what  the  left  hand  doeth.  In  this 
way  is  the  answer  of  prayer  possible.  “  God  is  a  spirit,  and 
they  who  worship  Him  must  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth.” 
To  be  in  a  trance  is  to  be  enveloped  in  spirit — to  be 
“  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  Fire.”  No  decep¬ 
tion,  no  untruth  can  enter  here.  Truth  elevates  the  soul, 
and  is  a  condition  requisite  to  acquisition  of  all  occult 
knowledge  and  power.  To  be  true  to  yourself  is  to  be  true 
to  God.  To  be  true  to  conditions  is  to  be  divested  of  all 
fear,  distrust,  and  doubt;  these  bar  the  way  and  close  the 
door. 

An  abiding  faith  in  the  Infinity  of  Power,  and  belief  in 
the  ability  of  the  soul  to  rise  to  realms  thereof,  are  essen¬ 
tially  basic  principles  of  progress.  To  awaken  the  soul 
from  its  long  sleep  of  the  ages,  a  preparation  is  necessary. 
All  passions  must  be  put  to  sleep.  The  temper  must  be 
subjugated,  and  the  animosities  of  nature  must  be  destroyed. 
This  is  a  herculean  task  to  most  men,  but  unless  this  be 
done,  let  no  one  boast  of  his  will-power. 


182 


WILL-CULTURE. 


The  reason  is  obvious  why  these  conditions  are  requisite. 
The  larger  the  soul  the  greater  the  agitation  of  the  ele¬ 
ments  within  its  radius;  and  the  passions  being  the  easiest 
disturbed  are  all  in  excessive  activity.  This  explains  why 
many  noble-souled  men  go  to  the  bad.  Those  capable  of 
soaring  the  highest  fall  the  lowest  when  bereft  of  self- con- 
trol.  The  soul  is  an  absolute  calm,  and  when  all  things  are 
calm  outside  it  expands  itself  as  if  to  burst  its  prison-walls ; 
then  the  Unnatural  rushes  upon  its  prisoner  to  overcome 
its  power  and  destroy  it.  The  calm  warm  sunshine  of  sum¬ 
mer  days  creates  vast  vacuums  in  the  atmosphere;  then 
comes  the  cyclone,  the  tornado,  the  lightning.  These  are 
nature’s  passions,  which  rage  till  the  vacuum  is  subdued. 

The  essential  office  of  the  soul  is  to  create,  and  it  does 
this  by  motions  and  emotions.  Repulsion  drives,  diffuses, 
and  scatters  the  spirit  abroad.  Attraction  draws,  not  only 
its  own  to  itself,  but  the  aura  or  spirit  of  other  things, 
which  it  appropriates  so  far  as  it  is  able.  And  this  appro¬ 
priation  or  fusion  of  elements  is  either  elevating  and  life- 
giving,  or  is  destructive. 

The  fire  of  things  is  life,  and  there  are  no  compounds 
thereof — it  is  one;  but  the  aura  of  things  is  graded  from 
hre  to  the  grossest  stench,  which  united,  forms  a  compound 
that  is  not  pure.  Purity  feeds  the  fire-body,  in  which 
death  and  destruction  have  no  place. 

Water  in  agitation  becomes  pure;  but  stagnant  water  has 
more  life  in  it  than  running  water.  Of  course  the  spirit 
in  concentration  becomes  stagnant  for  a  time,  and  in  this 
stagnation,  as  in  stagnant  water,  life  in  myriad  forms 
springs  into  being.  But  ere  they  have  being  in  the  spirit, 
by  persistent  effort  of  will,  in  concentration  upon  the  Idea 
of  a  Divine  body ,  this  life  is  condensed,  or  compelled  to 
take  form  as  One. 

I  am  aware  that  there  is  a  spiritual  body  which  forms  at 


WILL- CULTURE. 


183 


death,  but  it  is  not  an  immortal  body.  This  has  been  seen 
and  described  by  many  clairvoyants,  and  is  spoken  of  by 
Paul;  but  the  Divine  body  is  formed  in  this  body  during 
earth-life,  or  it  is  not  formed  at  all.  It  is  not  a  compound, 
neither  is  it  corruptible  matter.  It  is  not  seen  by  you,  but 
you  will  know  of  it  by  having  a  feeling  of  immortal  life  and 
undying  power  within.  When  perfected,  all  power  in 
heaven  and  in  earth  will  be  yours — not  as  a  man,  but  as  a 
God. 

“  A  mere  fancy  sketch” — “  a  picture  of  a  disordered 
brain!”  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  shadow  of  creative  power, 
projected  from  the  realm  of  the  incomprehensible  beyond! 
Is  there  such  a  realm  ?  If  so,  does  it  contain  things  ? 

To  return  to  our  subject.  In  the  concentration  of  spirit 
is  increased  life,  sensation,  sensitiveness,  motions,  emotions, 
and  power  of  all  sensuous  enjoyments.  Hence  many  fall 
into  the  slough  of  sense  on  the  road,  and  never  get  out. 

The  body  is  filled  full  to  overflowing  with  spirit  (mag¬ 
netism  miscalled),  and  the  entire  being  vibrates  with 
pleasure-seeking  emotions  and  longings.  None  but  the 
pure  can  pass  over  this  bridge;  the  impure  fall  at  “the 
threshhold.”  Monstrous  shapes  stand  guard  here — “  Cheru¬ 
bim”  with  “  flaming  swords”  guarding  “  the  way  to  the 
tree  of  life.” 

It  is  the  combustion  of  the  compounds  in  the  spirit  which 
causes  the  commotion,  which,  if  resisted,  they  become 
rectified  in  time. 

The  road  to  calmness,  tranquility,  peace,  is,  first,  to  be 
thoroughly  satisfied  in  your  own  mind  that  such  is  the  only 
way  to  health  and  happiness.  I  am  not  going  to  argue  this 
point,  it  is  the  universal  instinct  of  all  thinking,  reasonable 
men — none  but  savages  will  dispute  it.  This  point  settled, 
then  go  to  work  to  attain  it. 

This  is  done  by  a  constant  and  eternal  watchfulness.  As 


184 


WILL-CULTURE. 


I  before  stated,  the  passions  must  be  controlled,  subdued, 
and  brought  into  total  and  abject  subjection  to  the  will. 
This  is  best  accomplished  by  setting  apart  one  hour  each 
evening  for  meditation.  During  this  hour  you  think  only 
of  the  weakness  and  folly  of  anger,  lust,  avarice,  envy,  etc., 
dwelling  most  upon  your  greatest  and  most  besetting  weak¬ 
ness  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cause  you  to  loathe  yourself ; 
think  of  all  you  have  done  during  the  day — of  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  you  have  had,  especially  dwelling  upon  your 
failures  at  self-control;  aggravating  your  follies,  and  not 
trying  to  excuse  yourself  in  the  least.  If  you  feel  like  ask¬ 
ing  for  help,  do  so,  but  in  thought  only,  and  that  the  last 
thing  you  do,  and  as  briefly  as  possible. 

Compare  yourself  with  the  calm,  tranquil  beauty  of  a 
flower,  or  a  twinkling  star,  and  thus  take  the  pride  out  of 
your  pretended  greatness  and  egotism.  Think  of  the  body 
as  needing  your  utmost  care  of  nursing,  as  an  ulcer  needing 
to  be  dressed  and  poulticed — not  that  you  love  the  ulcer, 
but  to  assuage  its  pain. 

Only  a  few  years,  and  loathsome  worms  will  crawl  out 
and  in  at  hs  nine  orifices,  and  filthy  matter  will  frost  the 
lips  you  now  curl  so  proudly.  To  destroy  any  feeling  create 
its  opposite.  Is  your  heait  agitated,  torn  and  lacerated 
with  unrequited  love  ?  Does  jealousy  steal  away  your  sleep 
and  peace  of  mind  ?  Kill  it  then  by  clothing  in  your  mind 
the  object  in  garments  of  disgust.  Kise  above  it  in  your 
thought,  and  look  down  upon  it  with  disgust  as  an  eagle 
passes  by  carrion.  Fix  your  mind  upon  its  worst  and  most 
disgusting  aspect ;  thus  forgetting  its  allurements,  the  love 
grows  less  and  less,  until  at  last  you  wonder  that  you  ever 
had  such  a  feeling. 

Analyze,  dissect  the  human  heart,  turn  it  over  and  over, 
pick  it  to  pieces  shred  by  shred,  and  see  if  you  can  find  its 
main  spring — when  found,  it  will  be  just  like  your  own.  Do 


WILL -CULTURE. 


185 


you  hate  ?  Have  you  an  enemy  who  delights  in  your  w~oe  ? 
Well,  kill  your  hate,  and  thus  your  enemy,  by  learning  to 
love  him.  “Oh  !  that  is  impossible,”  says  one.  Impossible 
only  to  the  weak.  The  will  that  cannot  create  love  is  a 
mere  semblance — a  bubble  ;  it  cannot  endure.  Christ  said, 
“Love  your  enemies.” 

In  order  to  produce  love,  you  must  sow  the  seed  first,  be¬ 
fore  it  can  grow.  The  seeds  of  love  are  respect.  In  your 
meditations  fix  your  mind  upon  him,  and  thus  evoke  his 
“similacrum,”  and  compel  him  to  reveal  his  best  nature  to 
you  ;  thus  you  can  find  in  all  some  little  good  to  inspire 
your  respect.  Culture  this,  losing  sight  of  his  deformities 
and  infirmities  of  character,  for  it  shall  in  time  ripen  into 
love  to  the  building  up  of  yourself  and  him.  Are  you  supe¬ 
rior  to  your  enemy  ?  If  so,  it  is  only  in  your  love  or  char¬ 
ity,  and  not  in  pretense. 

“Pray  for  your  enemies.”  Desire  is  prayer,  which,  to  be 
answered,  must  be  so  intense  that  acts  go  therewith.  To 
pray  for  your  enemy  is  to  do  him  good — not  in  the  mere 
breathing  of  desire,  but  by  kindly  looks  and  acts.  A  gentle 
manner,  a  kind  look,  or  word  fitly  spoken,  an  unobtrusive 
gift  always  goes  to  the  heart,  and  will  do  more  to  kill  enmity 
and  elevate  the  soul  than  all  the  egotism  on  the  globe. 
Pride,  avarice,  envy  and  malice  have  no  wings,  they  are 
monsters  of  the  deep,  and  have  their  home  in  the  slime  ;  if 
you  harbor  them  they  will  carry  you  down,  down.  They 
leave  you  as  you  grow  calm  and  tranquil  in  lovefulness.  If 
you  find  you  cannot  grow  in  love,  go  down  into  disgust,  and 
there  wallow  till  the  Divine  fire  is  kindled  ;  but  do  not  get 
disgusted  with  others — your  field  of  labor  is  in  yourself,  in 
your  own  passions  and  weaknesses. 

It  is  out  of  disgust,  as  out  of  the  cesspools  of  hell,  that 
true  manhood  and  spiritual  power  takes  its  rise.  He  who  is 


186 


WILL- CULTURE 


not  disgusted  with  his  own  weaknesses  and  follies  remains 
in  them  as  a  hog  in  his  filth. 

In  man’s  natural  state  he  is  indifferent ;  hence,  to  him, 
there  is  no  good  nor  evil,  no  high,  no  low — all  things  are 
alike — indifferent.  Like  the  earth  without  living  things  to 
inhabit  it,  is  simply  neither  good  nor  evil.  But  man  in  ar 
unnatural  state  is  seething,  boiling  over,  raving  mad  with 
the  fires  of  lust ;  he  knows  nothing  of  love  or  its  divinity  ; 
he  scoffs  at  the  idea  of  the  soul-union  of  the  male  and  the 
female  as  the  door  to  immortal  life  and  Godlike  energy. 

All  habits  arise  from  and  have  their  life  in  lust.  Sexual 
habits  are  no  exception,  and  the  rules  for  destroying  the 
taste  for  food  and  drink  apply  to  sex-love  as  well. 

The  fires  of  lust  flow  downward  naturally.  To  reverse 
this  downward  tendency  is  to  reverse  the  entire  man.  The 
spirit  follows  the  thought,  as  the  thought  is  controlled  b} 
physical  motions  or  absence  thereof.  This  turning  of  the 
operations  upward  is  done  only  by  an  increased  and  extreme 
action  of  the  brain  and  nervous  system.  To  charge  the 
brain  with  blood  and  increase  its  magnetic  power  and  action, 
breathe  deeply  and  constantly  through  the  nostrils — deep, 
slow,  long  drawn  inspirations,  followed  by  rapid  expirations ; 
this,  persisted  in,  becomes  in  time,  a  habit,  which  the  soul 
carries  on  even  in  sleep,  till  the  barriers  of  sense  give  way, 
and  clairvoyance  is  the  result ;  but  beware  of  insanity  if  the 
mind  does  not  expand  first  by  proper  training. 

The  higher  mind  ought  to  rule,  but  unfortunately  in  most 
men,  body  lords  it  over  mind,  lust  rides  the  world.  The 
man  who  by  will  rides  and  controls  his  passions  is  nicely 
balanced  ;  the  man  who  by  will  puts  his  passions  to  sleep  so 
that  they  need  no  watching,  has  entered  already  the  realm 
of  power  ;  he  has  withdrawn  the  sexual  fires  from  the  lower 
extremities  to  his  brain,  and  only  needs  to  go  one  step  moro 
to  become  one  of  the  “Illuminati,”  i.  e.,  provided  lie  is  a 


WILL-OULTUKE. 


187 


passionate  man .  (“A  passionless  man  is  an  infernal  mon¬ 

ster,  not  only  in  this,  but  in  all  the  starry  worlds  of  space.” 
P.  B.  Randolph.) 

Passion  being  held  and  controlled  by  will,  and  the  fires 
of  sex  confined  to  the  body,  gradually  draws  together 
towards  the  mind  ;  the  thoughts  collect  and  run  together 
like  a  stream  of  water — shallow  and  wfide  at  first,  spreading 
a  way  into  swamps  and  marshes — stagnant  pools  winch  send 
up  scum  and  filth,  redolent  of  disease  and  crime,  which, 
when  a  channel  is  dug,  collects  its  waters  into  a  murmuring 
brook,  and  gradually  becomes  a  mighty  river,  purifying  its 
waters  by  its  own  motion.  The  will  digs  the  channel,  and 
gradually  draws  the  thoughts  therein.  It  is  hard  at  first, 
for  they  love  the  freedom  of  wildwood  and  slough,  wliere 
they  can  bask  and  sun  themselves,  and  evaporate  to  nothing; 
they  wash  away  the  tiny  banks  many  times,  but  the  de¬ 
termined  wtill  builds  and  rebuilds  until  the  banks  are 
mountains  high,  and  the  river  a  powerful  stream,  upon 
which  the  soul  is  born  aloft,  and  angels,  descending,  meet 
the  lone  voyager  with  comfort  and  a  purer  spirit. 

The  heights  once  ascended,  the  pathway  ever  remains, 
and  each  succeeding  ascent  becomes  easier  and  easier.  The 
way  once  learned,  how  strong  and  vigorous — how  full  of 
life,  peace,  rest,  and  joy,  the  scene  becomes  !  And  yet  how 
lowly,  innocent  and  childish  !  But  “  the  way  is  a  straight 
and  a  narrow  way.”  If  ye  will  abide,  then  dig  deep  the 
channel  towards  the  Infinite,  and  train  the  fractious  thoughts 
to  run  therein,  until  they  shall  love  the  way,  and  all  other 
thoughts  be  tributary,  and  run  and  murmur  along  the 
valleys,  down  the  gorges,  and  leap  and  dance  into  the  bosom 
of  God. 

By  concentration  alone  can  man  become  powerful.  Who 
can  select  one  idea  or  thing,  and  think  of  that  alone  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  other  thoughts,  for  the  space  of  five  short 


188 


WILL -CULTURE. 


minutes  f  Not  many.  Yet  there  are  men  who  can  take 
one  thought,  and  follow  its  thread-like  form  for  hours,  as  it 
winds  its  devious  way,  increasing  as  it  goes,  until  it  flows 
smoothly  and  noiselessly  into  the  bosom  of  the  sublime 
ocean  of  all  truth,  wherein  they  lave  to  their  soul’s  content. 

Thought  comes  upon  us  like  the  dew  upon  the  earth,  but 
there  are  places  where  there  is  no  dew  ;  but  such  are  rocks 
or  dry  sands  ;  there  are  no  flowers  whose  opening  petals 
catch  no  dew.  Some  men  are  like  a  pool  of  water,  redolent 
of  filth,  whose  surface  is  covered  with  a  yellowish-green 
scum,  which  comes  not  from  the  atmosphere,  but  from 
within.  This  scum  settles  upon  the  faces  of  men,  thick 
here  and  thin  there  ;  and  also  upon  their  lives.  It  may  be 
seen  sometimes  with  the  naked  eye  ;  at  other  times  it 
flashes  out  like  an  adder’s  tongue,  only  to  be  seen  with 
clairvoyant  sight. 

This  shows  that  man  has  only  a  little  time  ago  come  up 
out  of  the  water  ;  that  some  have  been  out  a  longer  time 
than  others.  There  are  lizards,  snakes,  frogs,  toads, 
birds,  spiders,  and  God  only  known  wThat,  walking  like  men; 
but  genuine  men  are  scarce.  They  may  be  known  by  their 
lack  of  scum.  Thought  dissipates  the  scum,  meditation 
annihilates  it. 

Thought  is  the  lightnings  of  God’s  universe.  Men  are 
lightning-rods.  Some  are  so  flat  on  the  top  of  the  head, 
that  they  attract  nothing  from  the  clouds  that  overshadow. 
Such  attract  from  the  earth  ;  their  feet  take  root  ;  they 
cannot  think,  but  vegetate  and  gather  scum,  the  filthiest  of 
which  is  Gold  !  Others — and  God  known  how  few  they  are 
— by  their  high,  dome-like  heads,  attract  spiritual  forces, 
like  the  lightnings  from  the  clouds,  that  shatter  and  break 
up  the  great  deeps  of  their  being,  searing  the  outside  so 
that  no  moss  or  scum  will  grow  there. 

Thought  burns  ;  it  rolls  and  turns  the  brain  inside  out, 

cJ  '  7 


WILL-CULTURE. 


189 


giving  no  opportunity  for  stagnation.  Not  so  the  thought 
that  comes  from  the  earth  ;  this  stagnates  and  increases 
filth. 

Purity  is  oneness.  It  is  the  nucleus  around  which 
centres  all  good.  It  is  the  magnet  of  the  human  soul,  and 
holds  our  thoughts  as  one,  centered  upon  the  source  of  all 
purity,  God. 

By  thought,  man  meditates  ;  and  meditation  collects  the 
spirit  and  draws  it  from  outward  things  to  the  inner,  and 
leads  to  abstraction — the  forgetting  of  one’s  self.  Abstrac¬ 
tion  is  the  knife  that  cuts  the  chords  which  bind  the  soul  to 
things.  In  other  words,  it  finishes  what  thought  begins 
and  prepares  the  soul  for  flight.  Magnetic  sleep  is  its 
weakest  phase.  In  this,  the  soul  goes  not  out  ;  but  the 
subject  often  has  second  sight,  and  sees  to  distant  places  ; 
his  power  depending  upon  the  combined  fires  of  the 
operator  and  himself. 

The  spirit  once  concentrated  and  drawn  within,  is  under 
the  control  of  the  will,  and  may  be  projected  to  any  distance, 
and  produce  any  effect  desired,  from  the  impressing  of 
others,  and  healing  the  sick,  up  to  moving  substances,  and 
the  manifesting  of  phantoms.  This  is  a  dual  power. 

In  the  culture  of  will,  there  are  many  things  demanding 
attention.  The  tongue  is  said  to  be  an  unruly  member  ; 
hence  the  Rosicrucian  adage,  “  Silence  is  strength.”  In 
much  speaking  is  evil.  Excitement  is  injurious  ;  and  the 
tongue  fires  and  excites  passion.  The  calm  man  is  the 
strong  man.  To  control  others,  first  control  yourself.  To 
control  spirit,  control  your  passions. 

To  penetrate  the  secrets  of  others,  expand  your  conscious¬ 
ness  so  as  to  come  en  rapport  with  their  inmost  being.  To 
feel  as  others  feel,  and  thus  know  them,  you  must  rise  above 
them,  then  descend  to  them.  You  are  not  superior  to  any- 


190 


WILL-CULTURE. 


thing,  only  in  your  imagination.  Culture  this,  then,  by- 
looking  for  pictures  in  it  as  in  a  mirror. 

To  get  en  rapport  with  another,  you  must  first  see  him  in 
your  imagination  ;  when  seen  command  him,  and  he  will 
obey.  Clairvoyance  is  the  road  to  power;  but  be  so  healthily 
or  not  at  all.  The  soul  is  magical  ;  it  can  do  anything  ; 
produce  anything,  if  it  be  large  enough  ;  then  study  to  ex¬ 
pand  it.  To  project  your  spirit  to  any  distance,  and  thus 
be  seen  and  heard,  make  the  spirit  pure  so  that  it  can  vie 
with  the  lightnings  in  space,  and  not  stick  like  slime  to 
objects  on  the  way. 

Your  soul  cannot  travel  without  a  coach,  the  spirit  is  the 
coach.  Make  yourself  double ,  and  then  all  things  are  easy. 
To  be  divine,  forget  that  you  are  the  devil.  Power  dwells 
in  silence,  and  in  secrecy — more  in  thought  than  in  word — 
more  in  a  look  than  in  a  blow,  if  you  know  how  to  look. 
Many  a  man  has  sickened  and  died,  or  went  crazy,  at  the 
wish  of  another.  Many  a  man  has  been  haunted  to  death 
by  the  strong  will  of  another.  Many  a  man  has  been  made 
to  do  the  right  towards  another  by  that  other  forgiving  him 
his  wrong  long  before. 

There  is  more  power  in  forgiveness  than  in  revenge,  for 
the  Gods  avenge  wrongs  done  to  a  good  man.  “  Curses 
come  home  to  roost,”  but  they  often  do  a  sight  of  mischief 
before  they  come  home,  especially  when  the  outraged  soul 

curses. 

If  you  feel  disgust,  can  you  look  love  ?  Can  you  look 
disgusted  when  you  feel  love  ?  If  not,  “  try,”  for  this  is 
will-culture  Can  you  hold  your  tongue  when  another  calls 
you  liar,  thief,  dog  ?  If  not,  you  are  no  man  !  Dogs  snarl 
and  bite  at  each  other.  How  can  you  control  your  spirit, 
when  your  tongue  is  your  master  ?  Can  you  be  deaf  while 
another  raves  ? — especially  your  wife  ?  If  not,  then  you 
are  under  the  control  of  others.  Get  out,  man,  by  all 


WILL-CULTURE. 


191 


means  !  Enter  into  yourself,  as  in  a  “  closet,”  and  when 
you  have  shut  your  eyes  to  sight,  and  your  ears  to  sound, 
and  your  nerves  to  sensation,  you  have  then  “  shut  the 
door,”  and  “whatever  you  shall  ask  the  Father  in  secret 
shall  be  done  to  you  openly.”  This  is  worshiping  “  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.” 

Water  is  prolific  ;  all  things  gestate  in  water.  The 
waters  of  the  human  soul  are  wrung  out  of  the  heart  by  real 
or  imaginary  wrongs.  There  is  no  growth  without  moisture. 
The  dews  that  give  life  to  vegetation  are  nature’s  tears. 
The  great  soul  has  a  soft,  weeping  heart.  The  small  soul 
has  no  tears  in  it  to  shed. 

The  true  child  of  “  the  shadow”  has  a  heart  that  distills 
the  dews  of  its  sympathy  unseen  and  unknown  ;  it  weeps 
over  the  fallen,  and  suffers  in  secret  at  its  powerlessness  to 
relieve.  It  is  often  sad  without  knowing  why.  Even  ad¬ 
versity  in  material  things  does  not  affect  it,  as  the  shadow 
which  seems  to  brood,  like  the  night,  over  it. 

When  the  shadow  comes  closest, — when  the  sun  is  obscured 
and  the  stars  give  no  light, — when  hope  is  well-nigh  fled, — 
look  up,  child  of  the  gloom!  the  light  is  near  by,  hidden  in 
the  deep  folds  of  the  cloud  which  rests  like  a  pall  over  you. 
It  is  “the  brooding”  of  the  spirit  you  sense! — in  your  dis¬ 
gust  of  life  and  love — which  is  softening  and  making 
malleable  your  heart  of  stone!  When  it  is  cultured  enough, 
it  will  produce  its  fruit — the  harvest  is  sure.  Prepare  your 
ground;  then — dig  deep  the  ditches  for  drainage  and  irriga¬ 
tion;  draw  together  all  your  forces  in  order  to  pierce  the 
gloom. 

The  meditations  recommended  in  this  work  as  the  true 
mental  and  spiritual  discipline,  are  all  of  a  gloomy  and 
sombre  character.  The  reason  must  be  obvious  to  every 
thinker.  There  is  a  principle  underlying  this,  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  histoiy  of  mankind.  It  is  the  thought- 


192 


WILL-CULTURE. 


less  who  langh.  It  is  thought  which  takes  the  laughter 
out  of  a  man  and  drapes  him  in  black — symbol  of  the 
lire. 

Inspiration  comes  from  despair ;  and  hearts  that  weep  are 
close  upon  the  confines  of  a  great  joy,  peace  and  rest. 
“  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  comforted.” 
:‘God  chasteneth  whom  he  loveth,”  is  a  hard  saying,  but  it 
is  true. 

The  trouble  is,  we  do  not  know  how  to  make  use  of  the 
gloom,  or  the  evil  of  life.  W e  must  learn  to  love  the  shadow , 
and  to  call  it  to  ourselves  by  a  mental  effort.  “  Resist  not 
evil,”  is  apropos  here.  The  great  minds  who  have  pierced 
the  gloom,  and  handed  down  to  mankind  light  and  philoso¬ 
phy,  that  enables  us  to  bridge  the  abyss  of  death,  have  been 
sad-hearted,  weeping  men.  “  Jesus  wept,”  but  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  his  ever  laughing.  Gautama  never  smiled 
after  he  forsook  a  crown  and  his  family,  for  the  forest  and 
the  yellow  robes  of  Asceticism.  Appolonius,  Socrates  and 
Plato  were  not  laughing  men. 

There  is  a  chamber  of  mourning,  veiled  and  draped  in 
black — in  every  human  heart.  We  all  retire  to  it  at  times, 
but  the  great- souled  oftenest.  Here  the  lurid  world  loses 
its  glare,  and  all  things  become  sombre ;  the  mind  here  loses 
its  ferocity,  and  we  go  forth  subdued.  Alas  for  him  who 
does  not!  Alas  for  him  whose  experience  still  leaves  him 
hard  within !  whose  river  of  life  sends  out  no  waters,  no 
tears,  no  dew  of  sadness  and  sympathy  over  weaknesses  and 
follies,  all  too  apparent! 

Such  need  much  thought — nay!  they  need  the  blows  and 
chastisement  of  fate — the  earthquake,  the  tremblings  of 
fear,  the  lightning’s  rending — the  agony  of  disease,  dis¬ 
appointment,  hate,  jealousy  and  despair,  to  compel  them  to 
think. 

But  let  him,  who  would  steer  clear  of  these,  provoke  hk 


WILL -CULTURE. 


193 


soul  to  sadness,  by  meditations  of  such  a  nature  as  shall 
make  him  sick  of  life  and  its  pleasures.  If  disease,  weak¬ 
ness,  pain  or  sickness  bring  lucidity  of  mind,  it  is  well,  but 
if  death  ensues  without  it,  it  is  not  so  well.  The  mind 
should  grow  clearer  and  stronger  from  physical  suffering, 
as  the  soul  should  expand  her  wings  from  mental  anguish. 
To  love  the  evil,  and  invite  it,  is  to  make  it  good. 

At  a  certain  stage  of  development  the  soul  becomes  self- 
sustaining  and  productive  of  all  that  is  needed.  It  becomes 
magical  in  its  physical  manifestations,  as  it  is  itself  ;  for  the 
soul  is  a  magical  thing,  and  in  its  expansion — when  it  has 
filled  the  whole  man  with  itself,  after  having  become  globu¬ 
lar — the  body  becomes  a  magical  or  a  divine  body. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


SOUL -POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


There  is  no  limit  to  man’s  powers.  That  which  seems  a 
limit  disappears  or  becomes  an  assistance  in  the  reversal  of 
the  thought  concerning  it.  All  spiritual  gifts  come  from 
the  lifting  of  the  veil  crushed  thick  and  opaque  by  object¬ 
ive  things,  or  the  piercing  through  of  the  sight,  as  a  peer¬ 
ing  under  through  an  opening  or  rift  in  the  rolling  clouds 
of  mundane  things. 

This  is  about  as  clear  as  mud.  Let  me  explain.  Mental 
perception,  intuition,  or  sight  of  the  mind,  is  in  the  centre 
of  the  intellect;  but  it  ordinarily  is  a  dark  sun,  which 
becomes  luminous  by  effort,  as  I  have  already  set  forth. 
Magnetism  is  a  short  road  to  lucidity,  but  the  powers 
conferred  are  weak  compared  to  those  which  come  through 
effort. 

Magnetization  is  effected  through  passivity,  and  the 
vacating  of  thought  and  will.  But  it  alternates,  i.  e., 
depends  upon  conditions  which  vary,  and  are  sometimes 
favorable  and  sometimes  unfavorable;  and  consequently,  it 
is  subject  to  spells — comes  and  goes,  and  leads  everywhere 
and  anywhere.  It  is  good  enough  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it 
does  not  go  deep  enough  or  far  enough. 

The  magnetic  sleep  is  not  at  all  dependent  upon  purity 
nor  will-power.  The  luminosity  I  teach  is  not  a  sleep 
necessarily ;  it  is  a  blindness,  or  a  cutting  off  of  externals — 
a  separation  of  the  selfhood  from  outward  influences  by 
the  sinking  in  or  absorption  of  the  voluntary  powers,  or  the 


SOUL -POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


195 


growth  of  the  involuntary  to  the  voluntary,  so  that  they 
become  one.  Mesmeric  sleep  is  the  first  phase  of  it. 

Illumination,  when  once  reached  through  and  by  effort  of 
will,  is  always  available.  It  makes  and  preserves  uniform 
conditions;  hence  it  has  no  “fits  or  starts,”  and  makes  no 
failures.  When  perfect  it  cannot  be  lost,  for  it  is  death- 
proof,  and  its  possessor  is  no  subject  of  any  power  in  ex¬ 
istence.  He  is  an  immortal  being,  having  divine  powers. 

There  are  many  grades  of  powers,  but  I  will  first  speak 
of  sight:  first,  natural  sight;  second,  clairvoyance;  third, 
soul -sight. 

Clairvoyance  has  several  degrees,  while  natural  sight  has 
only  one.  The  first  degree  of  clairvoyance  is  similar  to 
natural  sight:  i.  e .,  it  sees  only  objects,  such  as  reading 
blindfolded;  seeing  objects  at  a  distance;  seeing  through 
matter,  etc.  It  grows  by  practice,  and  its  powers  increase 
as  the  lucidity  of  the  brain  increases. 

But  lucidity  is  simply  dependent  upon  the  purity  of  the 
spirit.  Purity  focalizes  the  spirit,  but  magnetization  is  a 
result  of  a  mixture  of  spirits;  hence  it  is  what  I  have 
defined  as  impurity  or  an  adulteration.  It  is  exalting,  as 
an  intoxication ;  hence  its  effects  are  fleeting  and  ephemeral 
in  proportion  to  the  impurities  involved. 

I  do  not  mean  by  impurities,  immoralities  at  all.  Im¬ 
purity  is  in  the  mixture  and  appropriation  of  different  auras, 
substances,  magnetisms,  etc.  Magnetic  subjects  go  into  the 
condition  and  come  out  of  if  through  the  influence  of  an 
operator;  sometimes  in  the  form,  but  often  out  of  it.  In 
either  case  they  are  subject  to  the  will  of  another,  and  the 
lucidity  or  exaltation  of  powers  is  a  result  of  the  union  of 
spirits  both  in  the  form  and  out,  which  disappears  when 
the  subject  is  out  of  the  condition.  But  the  effects  do  not 
disappear  so  readily.  Often  the  subjects  are  a  prey  to 


196 


SGUL-POWEBS  AND  SPIEITUAL  GIFTS. 


vampires  both  in  the  form  and  out,  under  whose  infernal 
“  sucking”  the  life  is  slowly  but  surely  sapped. 

This  is  the  case  with  more  people — especially  women — 
than  many  imagine.  There  is  a  conscious  and  an  unconscious 
vampirism.  All  mediums  are  not,  however,  subject  to  this 
curse.  Space  will  not  allow  me  to  dwell  upon  this  important 
subject,  farther  than  to  add  that  mediumship  is  not  confined 
to  the  ranks  of  spiritualism.  Nine-tenths  of  all  the  crimes 
committed  are  due  to  vampirism.  A  vampire  is  not 
necessarily  a  disembodied  spirit ;  we  are  just  as  much  spirits 
now  as  we  will  ever  be,  and  all  the  power  that  any  spirit 
may  have  we  can  have,  if  we  only  know  how  to  develop  and 
use  it.  For  that  which  is  not  in  us  cannot  exist  long  as 
ours. 

Clairvoyance  is  a  mental  power,  and  as  the  mind  becomes 
more  and  more  luminous  by  practice  and  focalization  of  the 
spirit,  u  spiritual  gifts  ”  are  joined  to  it,  as  fruit  is  joined  to 
a  blossom.  It  is  not  my  object  to  specify  and  define  these 
gifts  further  than  is  necessary  to  elucidate  my  subject. 

Vampirism  is  one  spirit  preying  upon  another.  It  differs 
from  obsession  in  degree  only.  Clairvoyance  becomes 
deeper  and  deeper  by  practice,  until  it  enters  somewhat 
into  the  penetralia  of  things,  in  which  its  subject  becomes 
alive  to  influences — aches,  pains,  physical  and  mental  states, 
aspirations,  loves,  longings,  etc.  It  is  now  becoming  near 
to  another  power,  viz :  the  perception  of  spirit  forms,  faces, 
and  the  hearing  of  voices,  or  clairaudience.  This  is,  of 
course,  a  higher  power  than  mere  sight  of  objects. 

Spirit  pours  out  in  look  and  gesture,  but  in  speech  more 
than  in  any  other  manner.  In  fact,  speech  is  the  highest 
expression  of  spirit,  and  it  is  more  susceptible  to  culture 
than  looks  or  gestures,  and  leads  to  greater  depths  of  being ; 
and  is  moreover,  more  reliable,  because  it  does  not  lead  to 
that  idolatry  which  the  sight  of  beauty  and  grandeur 


SOUL  POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS 


197 


always  does.  The  beholding  of  spiritual  beings  by  clair¬ 
voyants  lias  led  many  into  the  erroneous  idea  that  they  have 
beheld  God,  the  ineffable  One,  when,  in  fact,  such  sight 
may  be  a  conjuration  of  the  will  of  some  strong  operator. 
Phantoms  seldom  speak;  to  be  reliable,  sight  and  hearing 
should  go  together. 

The  deepest  clairvoyance  is  that  where  objects,  both 
material  and  spiritual,  are  passed  by  as  of  no  account;  and 
the  ineffable  glories  of  soul-realm  glimpsed.  This  is  a 
sight  of  spirit,  as  fire  only,  and  not  as  objects.  This  fire  or 
spirit  finds  a  voice  suited  to  the  ear  of  him  who  will  listen. 

Zoroaster  said  :  “  When  you  see  the  fire,  listen  to  the 

voice  of  the  fire!  ”  It  was  in  view  of  this  truth  that  Moses 
enacted  laws  against  the  communicating  writh  spirits  ;  and 
in  order  to  preserve  purity  in  the  mediums  (or  priests), 
tried  to  confine  it  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  It  was  for  this  pur¬ 
pose  (purity)  that  celibacy  was  enjoined  by  Buddha. 

Beyond  this  mundane  sphere — beyond  the  realm  of 
spiritual  things — is  infinite  knowledge  and  power.  And  he 
who  is  able  to  pierce  through  the  shadow  which  things 
cast,  sees  the  glories  of  the  spirit-worlds.  But  this  is  all. 
Forms  do  not  appear  from  beyond  u  the  abode  of  the  gods;” 
but  he  who  can  visit  the  highest  abode  may  hear  the  echoes 
of  busy  feet,  and  the  whisperings  of  incomprehensible  and 
unutterable  things.  This  power  I  call  soul -sight  ;  but  it  is 
not  a  sight  of  things,  but  of  the  fire  of  principles.  This 
power  is  within  all  spiritual  powers.  As  the  soul  is  the 
inmost  of  the  man,  so  is  soul-sight  the  inmost  of  intuition. 

Clairvoyance,  psychometrv,  and  clairaudience,  are  all  de¬ 
veloped  by  contact,  or  the  coming  en  rapport  with  objects. 
Their  field  of  operations  is  in  the  spirit  of  things  ;  but  soul- 
sight  is  developed  by  holding  the  spirit  aloof  from  other 
things,  spirits,  etc.,  and  the  losing  sight  of  all  distinctions 
or  differences  of  things.  It  is  the  distinctness  of  things 


198 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


which  scatters  the  spirit  and  confuses  thought  and  mind. 
We  know  nothing,  because  there  are  so  many  things  to  learn . 
W' e  think  not  clearly  because  we  see  so  much. 

He  who  seeks  the  absolute  loses  sight  of  the  differences 
of  things,  and  passing  inward,  reaches  the  spirit  thereof  ; 
but  instead  of  entering  en  rapport  therewith,  passes  deeper 
still  beyond  all  distinctions  and  differences  to  the  oneness 
of  being— in  fact,  to  the  supernatural  of  his  own  being. 
“  He  that  hath  a  mind  to  think,  let  him  think  ;  ”  for,  indeed, 
it  is  thought  which  leads  to  hearing  of  the  Word.  This  is 
the  real  meaning  of  John:  “In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God.” 

He  who  passes  in  thought  through  and  beyond  things, 
hears  “the  Word  of  God.”  For  God  dwells  in  the  inmost 
recesses  of  all  being,  hidden  away  from  all  mortal  sight 
hence  the  necessity  of  destroying  the  differences  of  things 
in  the  mind.  The  differences  among  men  constitute  hell. 
How  easily  we  are  all  brothers  when  we  forget  our  differ¬ 
ences.  They  make  enemies  of  us — enemies  to  each  other 
and  to  God.  How  harmonious  we  would  be  if  there  were 
no  distinctions.  Of  a  truth,  this  is  the  road  to  God. 

The  man  who  fixes  not  his  attention  upon  differences  of 
race,  sex,  conditions,  opinions,  names,  etc.,  is  a  great-souled 
man,  and  looks  with  indifference  upon  the  small  things 
which  agitate  and  disturb  mankind.  He  can  lay  claim  to 
kinship  with  God,  who  loves  all  alike.  Aye,  and  he  holds 
sweet  converse  with  God  in  the  depths  of  his  own  all-know¬ 
ing  INTUITIVE  SOUL ! 

This  is  the  source  of  all  inspiration.  God  finds  voice  in 
the  soul,  and  intuition  is  but  the  faint  echoes  thereof,  as  it 
vibrates  along  the  dark  and  noisome  crypts  of  being.  Alas  1 
for  him  who  “hath  no  ears  to  hear;”  nor  “eyes  to  see” — 
his  darkness  must  be  intense  indeed. 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


199 


Let  him  who  would  reach  the  regal  powers  of  the  soul  sit 
in  circles.  For  in  the  mingling  of  magnetisms  is  an  intense 
and  fierce  combustion  or  war  of  spirits  produced,  in  ’which 
conflagration,  great  and  rapid  changes  take  place;  during 
which  the  soul  begins  to  make  motions  as  of  a  thing  com¬ 
ing  to  life;  it  is  drawing  itself  together  into  shape,  leaving 
the  atoms  of  the  body.  Motions  are  usually  felt  first  in  the 
hands,  which  vibrate  somewhat  like  wThen  in  contact  with  a 
magnetic  battery;  this  sensation  extends  in  time  to  every 
part  of  the  body  in  some  persons ;  in  others,  it  is  limited  to 
the  hands,  arms  or  head;  it  deepens  in  intensity  till  the 
nerves  begin  to  twitch  and  jerk. 

Now,  when  you  have  got  thus  far,  there  are  two  roads 
open  for  you.  If  you  wish  mediumship  with  any  of  its 
multitudinous  phases,  with  a  band  of  helpers  and  a  guide, 
just  sit  passive  and  “  let  it  jerk;”  don’t  expect  or  be  anxious 
for  anything,  but  let  yourself  alone,  fully  resigned  to 
accept  whatever  may  come  without  doubt  or  criticism. 
Think  of  nothing  as  nearly  as  possible,  and  above  all 
resist  no  impulse  of  thought ,  ivord  or  action.  “  Follow  your 
impulses”  is  the  law  of  mediumship. 

But  if  you  choose  the  soul  road,  you  must  now  brace 
yourself  for  an  effort;  that  effort  is  resistance — resist  all 
impulses  and  all  motions  of  the  nerves  and  muscles; 
instead  of  passivity,  grasp  yourself  as  with  your  hands, 
holding  fast  in  your  mind  or  imagination  with  the  same 
tension  of  the  nerves  as  if  you  were  holding  something, 
but  without  any  muscular  contraction  — this  while  sitting  in 
the  circle. 

To  become  spiritual,  cultivate  mind,  for  this  is  the  door 
which  must,  indeed,  open  before  you  can  walk  out  into  the 
realms  of  power.  To  cultivate  mind,  increase  the  activity 
of  the  nervous  system  and  its  source — the  brain.  Draw  the 
blood  to  the  brain,  by  deep  breathing  and  the  fixing  of  the 


200 


SOUL -POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


thought  upon  the  object  in  view.  Magnetize  yourself  one 
hour  every  evening  by  taking  hold  of  the  left  thumb  with 
the  right  thumb  and  forefinger,  and  pressing  gently,  enough 
to  keep  the  attention  fixed  upon  it,  and  think  of  one  thing, 
say  some  word — your  own  name,  if  nothing  else — saying  it 
over  and  over  to  yourself  constantly.  In  a  short  time  your 
object  will  become  fixed  and  constant  in  your  thoughts,  and 
the  soul  will  begin  its  work.  But  remember  that  each  effort 
you  make  upward  will  be  followed  by  a  revulsion  downward, 
and  you  will  find  yourself  becoming  amorous.  Besist  this 
impulse,  as  all  impulses  :  in  the  course  of  time,  you  will  see 
clouds,  flashes  of  light,  and  faces  or  forms  will  peer  out  of 
the  gloom  at  you,  or  form  in  the  clouds. 

Pay  no  attention  to  these  things,  but  keep  right  on  with 
your  exercise.  There  are  many  more  methods  which  I  am 
not  at  liberty  to  disclose.  Things  of  a  physical  nature 
assist  the  physical,  inasmuch  as  physical-* nature  yields  most 
readily  to  such  things  as  are  like  itself,  or  one  degree  re¬ 
moved  therefrom.  To  illustrate  :  a  brute  yields  to  the 
force  of  a  club,  but  when  he  is  trained  a  word  controls  him. 
So  with  mankind  :  some  need  kings,  and  soldiers  with 
bayonets,  to  keep  them  within  humanity’s  realm  ;  others 
stay  there  naturally,  for  they  understand  its  unspoken  and 
unwritten  laws.  For  babes,  milk  and  baby-talk  ;  for 
children,  play-houses  and  stories  ;  for  youth,  the  dance  and 
the  opera  ;  for  middle  age,  the  rush  and  rattle,  the  clash 
and  commotion  of  business  ;  for  mature  man,  thought, 
reason,  spiritual  things.  These  are  nature’s  methods  of 
culture. 

Nature  cannot  he  forced  out  of  one  mood  into  another. 
Ask  yourself,  “  Where  does  my  love  lead  me  ?  ”  and  nature 
or  your  own  soul  will  tell  you  truly.  If  you  long  to  be¬ 
come  spiritual,  begin  at  once,  and  that  gradually.  “  Nature 
allows  none  to  overleap  her  barriers  ;  they  must  be  beaten 


SOUL  POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS 


201 


down.”  Don’t  ask  God  to  teach  yon,  bub  learn  of  stick  as 
are  in  harmony  with  you,  even  if  it  be  the  devil. 

The  basis  of  all  understanding  is  mutual  sympathy  ex¬ 
isting  between  the  teacher  and  the  taught — the  actor  and 
the  acted  upon.  To  the  material  in  thought,  desire  and 
action,  are  the  matter-of-fact  in  nature  adapted.  They  are 
like  it,  and  hence  the  spiritual  is  too  far  removed  from  them 
to  be  their  direct  teachers  ;  such  need  physical  training, 
and  to  them  are  physical  means  necessary.  Hence,  to  such 
(and  in  fact,  all  men  are  of  this  class  more  or  less),  in  ad¬ 
dition  to  deep  breathing,  the  bath,  in  cold,  magnetic  water; 
a  complete  and  radical  change  in  the  diet ;  rest  instead  of 
exercise  ;  thought  instead  of  talk  ;  tears  instead  of  laughter; 
darkness  instead  of  light  ;  emotion  instead  of  motion — 
these  and  more  are  necessary  to  train  the  physical  before 
the  spiritual  can  come  forth. 

Spirit  is  formless,  and  yet  not  altogether  so.  There  is  a 
form  within  these  bodies  of  ours,  which  is  spirit,  and  yet  it 
hath  no  form  until  detached,  as  it  were,  from  the  flesh.  All 
development  is  a  loosening  of  the  spirit  from  the  flesh  and 
the  loves  thereof  ;  and  this  loosening  is  the  embryotic 
organization  of  the  spiritual  body  carried  on  and  fully  per¬ 
fected. 

Resist  muscular  and  nervous  motion  with  all  your  power 
of  will.  Keep  calm.  Never  allow  any  circumstance  to 
agitate  or  disturb  you  ;  for  here  in  the  degree  of  motion  it 
is  that  demons  and  evil-disposed  spirits  take  advantage  of 
your  sensitive  and  expansive  condition,  and  enter  in — first, 
the  nervous  system,  and  secondly,  the  mind,  and  control 
you  to  your  destruction. 

Music  sets  you  on  fire,  and  you  want  to  dance,  sing  or 
shout  :  keep  silent — “  silence  is  strength.  ”  Never  debate  ! 
But  let  the  one  object  be  to  keep  calm,  self-possessed  and 
cool.  This  is  the  beginning  of  self-control  and  power.  It 


202 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


is  concentration.  Think,  meditate,  read  and  study — but 
keep  silent.  Remember  there  are  beings  around  you  who 
come  in  connection  with  you  through  words,  sounds, 
motions,  etc.,  who,  without  them,  remain  ignorant  of  your 
object  and  condition.  There  are  demons  and  spirits  who 

cannot  read  the  mind,  but  who  can  hear  and  see. 

* 

It  is  when  thrown  off  our  guard,  being  carried  away  by 
strange  sensations,  thoughts,  impulses,  motions  and  emo¬ 
tions,  that  we  are  seized  upon  by  the  above  or  below ,  and 
carried  away  from  ourselves,  as  it  were,  from  our  equipoise 
or  balance — self-consciousness  dethroned  :  and  we  rise  or 
fall  according  to  predisposition.  The  falling  into  acts  silly 
and  criminal,  or  less  than  those  of  the  normal  state,  is 
termed  “  obsession  but  this,  like  most  names,  is  an  effort 
to  explain  that  which  we  do  not  understand  ;  an  assumption 
of  knowledge  ;  an  excuse  we  make  to  ourselves  for  our 
ignorance  ;  a  distinction  made  ;  a  difference  visible  in  ex¬ 
tremes,  as  good  and  evil,  which  flow  into  one  another  as  one ; 
but  to  us,  and  for  us,  obsession  is  as  real  as  the  evil,  and 
must  be  avoided. 

Since  I  commenced  writing  this  book,  this  subject  was 
forced  upon  my  attention  by  a  series  of  articles  in  some  one 
of  the  spiritual  papers  ;  I  cared  nothing  for  the  differences 
of  opinion  in  regard  to  obsession  ;  but  feeling  the  necessity 
of  progress  in  the  avoidance  of  evil,  by  some  persons  at 
least,  I  sought  for  a  sure,  safe  and  certain  preventive  of  it ; 
I  pondered  several  days  upon  this  subject  with  no  satisfac¬ 
tory  result.  One  night,  alone  in  my  tent,  a  wave  of  loneli¬ 
ness  and  sadness  swept  over  me.  This  had  no  visible  or 
mundane  cause — my  health  was  excellent,  business  was 
good,  money  was  plenty  (for  I  had  “  a  dime  in  my  pocket,” 
which  is  enough  as  long  as  it  lasts),  but  nevertheless  I  was 
low-spirited  ;  I  could  neither  think  nor  write,  so  throwing 
down  my  pen  I  paced  up  and  down  until  wearied  ;  I  threw 


SOUL  POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


203 


myself  upon  my  bed  to  sleep  ;  my  mind  became  tranquil  as 
my  body  became  at  rest,  and  this  idea  of  obsession  came 
over  me  as  a  problem  unsolved.  To  solve  it,  I  knew  of  only 
two  ways  :  One  was  to  come  en  rapport  with  the  spirit  oj 
obsession ,  and  hence  become  obsessed  myself  in  order  to 
know  by  experience  all  about  it,  so  as  to  show  how  to  avoid 
it;  the  other  was  by  inspiration. 

The  first  was  repugnant  to  all  my  thoughts  and  feelings. 
Under  all  circumstances  I  wish  to  be  myself — and  only 
that;  so  I  turned  aside  and  repelled  the  spirit  by  the 
thoughts  of  my  own  individual  selfhood,  and  the  determi¬ 
nation  to  be  only  myself.  There  are  lights,  clouds,  flashes, 
faces  and  forms  here  at  this  condition  of  the  mind;  but  I, 
in  following  my  thought,  passed  them  by  as  of  no  account. 
Laughing  faces,  hideous  faces,  and  monstrous  forms  looked 
out  of  the  light  at  me,  and  as  I  passed  by,  mocked  and 
scowled.  Gradually  the  lights  paled,  the  faces  grew  dim 
and  finally  disappeared,  leaving  me  in  intense  and  opaque 
darkness.  Pulsating,  throbbing,  vibrating  with  strange  and 
weird  sensations,  I  glided  along  down  the  corridors  of  the 
soul  as  one  falling,  and  slowly,  oh  !  so  slowly,  losing  myself. 
All  at  once,  from  out  the  darkness,  and  close  to  me,  a  voice 
low  and  soft  sounded  in  my  ear  :  “  To  avoid  obsession, 

keep  the  body  positive  and  the  mind  negative.”  The  voice 
came  so  suddenly,  and  was  so  close  to  me,  that  I  was 
startled  and  driven  back  to  myself.  There  I  lay  all  vibrating 
with  ecstatic  emotions,  altogether  out  of  the  ordinary  nature 
of  things,  with  the  words  engraved  in  letters  of  fire  upon 
my  consciousness.  To  me  this  was  a  new  idea  ;  it  was  a 
revelation  of  a  wonderful  truth,  and  I  cast  about  for  the 
logic  of  it,  which  is  this  : 

Ordinarily  the  body  is  negative,  and  hence  receptive  to 
impressions — physical,  atmospherical,  and  spiritual.  The 
first  effect  of  magnetism  is  to  increase  this  negative  state  of 


204 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


the  body;  hence,  it  becomes  very  impressible  and  very 
liable  to  take  on  the  conditions  of  others,  both  in  the  mun¬ 
dane  and  the  spiritual.  The  will  is  the  cause  of  all  posi¬ 
tiveness  of  mind,  body  and  spirit.  By  its  force  it  is  repul¬ 
sive,  and  holds  at  a  distance  things  foreign  and  injurious. 
Now,  in  passivity,  the  will  relaxes  the  tension  of  the  nerves, 
and  they  are  unstrung;  in  wrhieli  state,  spirits  both  good 
and  evil  can  enter  into  the  inactive  sphere  of  the  spirit,  and 
thus  get  a  lodgment  from  which  to  control,  in  time,  the 
mind,  and  subjugate  the  will. 

Now,  if  by  any  process  the  body  can  be  kept  positive, 
the  spirit  is  rendered  so,  also;  and  hence,  no  spirits  but 
those  of  a  negative  character  will  be  attracted.  Bemember, 
it  is  only  positive  spirits  that  seize  upon  and  obsess  mortals. 
They  are  the  repulsive  and  the  deficient — the  empty  of 
sympathy  and  all  elements  of  greatness.  The  law  is  for 
the  positive  to  enter  into  and  control  the  negative,  i.  e.,  to 
beget  therein  their  own  devilishness.  Now,  in  rendering 
the  mind  negative  by  constantly  keeping  down  its  excitabili- 
ties,  it  is  elevated  by  the  motive  or  object  in  view;  and  as 
mind  can  only  be  acted  upon  by  mind,  and  is  not  a  recepta¬ 
cle  of  anything  but  ideas,  minds  of  a  high  order,  such  as 
have  ideas  to  give,  are  attracted,  and  instill  their  ideas  or 
thoughts  of  a  positive  nature  into  the  negative  mind;  thus 
leading  the  mind  upward  without  disturbing  the  will  in 
the  least.  Indeed,  such  spirits  increase  the  individuality 
by  assisting  instead  of  controlling.  Negative  spirits  never 
do  harm. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  explain  how  the  body  can  be 
rendered  positive,  and  the  mind  negative.  The  tranquil, 
peaceful,  inoffensive  mind  is  negative.  This  idea  of  con¬ 
trolling  mind  instead  of  nerves  and  muscles,  engages  the 
entire  attention  and  will ;  for  the  mind  is  not  rendered 
tranquil  save  by  constant  ■watchfulness,  and  the  keeping 


SOUL- POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


205 


down  of  those  passions  which  disturb,  agitate,  and  thus 
cause  filth  to  rise  up  as  impurities  of  the  blood  and  spirit. 
The  will  thus  engaged  in  rendering  the  mind  negative  or 
tranquil,  renders  the  body  positive  at  the  same  time, 
because  two  negatives  cannot  exist  together,  neither  can 
two  positives. 

I  am  aware  it  is  a  reversal  of  nature’s  methods,  but  he 
who  would  rise  up  to  power  must  rise  in  the  mind,  or  not 
at  all.  God  dwells  in  all  things  alike,  but  those  who  seek 
him  cannot  find  him  so  readily  in  some  things  or  conditions 
as  in  others.  Remember  what  I  have  previously  said  about 
diet.  Don’t  be  in  a  hurry,  for  all  things  grow  slowly. 

Weakness  is  only  an  argument  in  favor  of  strength,  and 
the  small  measure  of  the  spirit  meted  out  to  us  here  only 
indicates  the  vastness  of  its  extent  and  power.  The  impossi¬ 
bilities  of  our  infirmities  indicate  the  possibilities  of  those 
who  are  firm.  Then  doubt  not,  wTaver  not,  but  keep 
steadily,  coolly  on,  up  the  mountains  of  difficulty,  each  one 
you  surmount  only  reveals  more  clearly  to  you  the  possibili¬ 
ties  of  your  nature.  The  value  of  things  is  in  their  use. 
Spiritual  gifts  are  of  use  just  now,  in  the  “  a-b-c  ”  of  man’s 
growth — in  the  awakening  of  man’s  dull  senses  to  the 
recognition  of  a  future  existence  and  its  nature;  but  when 
such  becomes  universal,  as  it  must  in  time,  what  will  be 
their  use  ? 

The  world  has  been  as  far  advanced  in  spiritual  things 
in  the  long  ago  as  now — and  probably  much  further;  but 
what  use  was  it  to  them  ?  They  had  their  oracles  and  their 
temples,  and  gods  and  guides  without  number;  but  all  this 
did  not  prevent  retrogression. 

The  ground  must  now  all  be  traveled  over  again.  Again 
must  the  priesthood  be  organized,  the  temples  built,  the 
altars  reared,  and  the  fires  lighted;  and  what  is  all  this  for? 
Oh,  the  patience  of  the  Infinite !  In  vain  are  the  choicest 


206 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


gifts  of  heaven  showered  upon  unthankful  and  unthinking 
man!  They  are  all  prostituted  to  devilish  ends  and  aims. 
The  choicest  oracles  of  the  olden  time  led  opposing  armies 
to  the  slaughter  of  each  other.  The  prophets  of  the  Lord 
anointed  kings  and  watched  over  the  welfare  of  one  nation 
to  the  detriment  of  another. 

Gifts  were  all  prostituted  to  the  attainment  of  material 
wealth,  grandeur,  glory  and  fame.  All  powers  were  bent 
and  warped  to  the  creation  and  perpetuation  of  monstrous 
distinctions  among  men,  by  reason  of  which  war  and  out¬ 
rage  are  the  rule,  and  peace  and  harmony  very  rare 
exceptions.  Where  now  are  they  ?  A  slow,  lingering 
decay — an  awful  disease  of  the  very  vitals,  or  the  violent 
conflagration  of  their  own  passions  hath  swept  them  away. 
The  wand  of  a  magician  hath  waved  across  the  sky  and  they 
are  not  !  But  they  have  left  the  diseases  which  they 
created  behind  them  in  the  ruins  of  their  former  glory  and 
worship.  Their  spirituality  is  only  a  min. 

In  vain  do  men  teach  and  preach;  the  world  goes  on  in 
the  old  beaten  track,  and  religion  follows  the  lead.  In  vain 
did  the  lowly  Jesus  heal  the  sick  and  teach  the  ignorant. 
In  vain  did  he  cry  from  the  mountains  and  temples,  of  a 
rare  good  life  here ,  free  from  disease  and  death.  The  Jews 
heard  him  not — and  now — even  now!  with  all  our  boasted 
progress  and  civilization  the  word  of  a  God  is  prostituted 
to  mean  something  he  never  intended.  “  If  ye  believe  ye 
shall  not  die,”  is  enunciated  in  words  which  can  have  no 
other  meaning. 

If  he  had  meant  what  is  now  preached  as  the  gospel,  it 
was  as  easy  to  have  said  “  He  that  believeth  shall  not  go  to 
hell”  as  to  have  said  what  he  did.  His  teachings  from 
beginning  to  end  show  his  mission  to  have  been  to  teach 
mankind  how  to  live  humane  lives  so  as  to  be  healthy  and 
happy.  His  healing  of  the  sick  shows  that  the  gospel  was 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


207 


•  that  of  physical  health  and  the  salvation  from  disease.  His 
raising  of  the  dead,  and  his  owrn  resurrection,  show  further 
that  death  was  a  thing  to  be  overcome  by  living  a  true  life. 
“And  these  signs  shall  follow  those  that  believe,”  etc. 
(See  Luke  xvi,  17,  18).  In  another  place  he  says, 
“  Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do,  because  I  go  to  the 
Father.” 

Of  what  avail  are  spiritual  gifts  if  their  utmost  power  is 
simply  to  demonstrate  another  life  without  joining  this  life 
thereto  as  one?  It  must  be  evident  to  every  thoughtful 
I  person  that  the  object  of  these  manifestations  is  the  eleva¬ 
tion  of  the  race.  And  wherein  can  this  be  effected,  save  in 
the  power  to  enjoy  ?  Where  does  this  power  reside,  save 
in  health  ?  In  vain  did  Jesus  heal  the  sick  if  he  did  not 
teach  the  way  to  continued  health  !  In  vain  did  he  raise 
the  dead  if  he  did  not  show  the  way  to  remain  alive  !  If 
they  die  not  in  the  spirit-world,  what  need  of  death  here  ? 

All  the  revelations  heretofore  given  have  been  of  an  im¬ 
mortal  life  in  some  other  state  of  existence.  But  I  tell  you 
of  an  immortality  of  this  life.  I  believe  Jesus  taught  the 
way  of  its  attainment,  but  it  was  not  understood,  I  may 
not  be  able  to  point  the  whole  road,  but  what  I  have  said 
already  must  contain  the  principles  of  it  in  part.  Man 
creates  himself  and  all  the  essentials  of  his  being — his 
health,  happiness,  heavens  and  hells.  But  hell  comes  from 
mis-directed  effort  and  heaven  from  well-directed  effort. 

Things  superior  descend  as  a  revelation  in  answer  to  a 
demand,  which  revelation  is  an  idea — this  is  enlightenment. 
No  matter  how,  or  in  what  manner  an  idea  comes,  if  it  is  of 
a  superior  character,  it  is  of  the  light.  Hence  it  is  enlighten¬ 
ing,  and  leads  upwards.  Man  must  first  have  an  idea  of 
■what  he  wants  before  he  can  create  conditions  superior  to 
things  that  now  are. 

The  demand  always  precedes  the  supply.  Is  there  a  de- 


208 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


mand  for  a  continuous  and  happy  life  here  on  this  globe  ? 
Is  there  a  demand  for  power  to  create  forms  of  matter  for 
use  by  effort  of  will,  without  the  toil  and  demoniac  scramble 
after  the  necessaries  of  life  ?  There  will  be  a  demand 
when  man  is  satisfied  of  its  possibility.  Then  multiply  the 
mediums  !  The  spirit-world  is  drawing  near.  Soon, 
spiritual  beings  will  walk  among  us  as  men — will  heal  the 
sick,  cast  out  devils,  multiply  bread  for  the  hungry,  and  gold 
for  the  greedy,  till  it  shall  lose  its  value,  and  man  turns  his 
attention  to  the  attainment  of  spiritual  powers  and  gifts. 

The  demand  for  self-government  and  peace  has  already 
gone  up  to  the  Gods,  and  the  answer  is  coming.  The 
bomb  which  carried  Alexander  of  Russia  into  hell,  or 
out  of  it,  was  God-sent,  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  many  an 
earnest  soul .  A  full  and  complete  answer  is  at  hand,  when 
the  world  shall  be  free ,  and  every  man  shall  be  his  own 
king,  priest,  bishop,  pope,  and  God  !  All  hail  to  the 
mediums  and  to  spiritual  gifts  of  all  grades  and  kinds  ! 
For  here  is  freedom.  Let  gifts  be  no  longer  prostituted 
by  individual  ambition,  nor  to  the  building  of  thrones  or 
national  glory  !  Let  the  universal  anthem  be,  “  peace  on 

EARTH,  GOOD-WILL  TO  MEN  !” 

Let  us  work  mentally  and  spiritually,  so  that  the  new 
temple  shall  not  be  made  with  hands  of  material  sub¬ 
stance,  but  a  temple  in  these  bodies — a  divine  body,  where¬ 
in  God  shall  be  conscious  to  each  one  of  us.  Let  us  rear 
altars  in  our  own  hearts — altars  of  love-worship,  needing 
no  typical  sacrifices  of  the  blood  of  animals  or  of  men.  Let 
us  light  the  fires  of  the  spirit  thereon,  which  are  unquench¬ 
able  and  eternal. 

Man's  desires  for  immortality  have  been  mis-directed,  in¬ 
asmuch  as  his  revelations  have  been  of  a  future  life,  and 
not  of  this.  The  time  has  come  when  revelations  must  be 
made  of  this  life  and  its  possibilities — of  the  present,  and 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


209 


not  of  the  future.  The  perfect  life  of  to-day  admits  no 
doubt  nor  fear  of  to-morrow.  A  perfect  life  here  is  as  fully 
and  completely  immortal  as  any  life  in  any  world.  The 
idea  of  living  for  the  future  is  a  false  light  ;  it  is  a  material 
light  of  “Lucifer,  Son  of  the  morning.”  Happiness  is  not 
of  to-morrow,  nor  of  any  future  time  or  world.  It  is  to-day 
or  not  at  all.  All  life  is  of  to-day,  and  the  present.  The 
future  never  comes. 

Salvation  is  from  disease.  If  you  die  of  disease,  you 
wake  up  on  the  other  side  diseased  ;  you  have  to  be  cured 
there  before  you  have  fullness  of  life.  The  same  knowledge 
that  saves  you  there  will  save  you  here.  Then  why  not 
have  that  knowledge  ?  The  self-same  power  that  feeds  the 
angels  in  heaven  will  feed  you  here,  if  it  is  yours.  Then 
why  not  open  your  soul  to  its  reception  ?  Heaven  is  in  no 
particular  place.  It  is  within  you  if  you  want  it  there, 
with  all  its  angels  and  powers — aye  !  and  its  immortal  life, 
also. 

“In  union  there  is  strength.”  “Again,  I  say  unto  you, 
that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything 
that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven.”  (Matthew  xviii,  9.) 

This  agreement  spoken  of  here  is  not  merely  of  the  mind 
— it  is  a  union  or  oneness  of  spirit,  wherein  power  is  multi¬ 
plied  in  an  unknown  ratio.  The  spirit  of  one  is  not  as  an¬ 
other — they  differ  in  quality,  hence  there  is  no  agreement: 
even  where  minds  agree,  the  spirits  do  not.  Hence  the 
possibility  of  the  truth  of  the  above  is  in  the  agreement. 
Agreement  is  the  kingdom  of  power.  The  union  of  two 
is  of  higher  quality  than  one  alone;  and  the  more  spirits 
there  are  in  the  union  the  greater  is  the  power.  But  the 
difficulty  deepens  when  it  is  made  known  that  two  male 
spirits  cannot  agree.  Agreement  is  of  the  male  and  female. 
Herein  Divinity  appears,  and  power  to  accomplish  all  things 


210 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


is  manifest.  But  union  of  spirit  is  preceded  by  mental 
agreement. 

Now,  the  demand  for  immortal  power  and  life  on  this 
earth  must  first  be  a  mental  agreement,  which,  in  its  per¬ 
fection  and  harmony,  will  give  birth  to  union  or  agreement 
of  spirit  touching  that  thing.  But  look  you  !  Woman  is 
not  free  !  Alas  for  the  dawn  of  light !  Woman  a  slave  ! 
Prostituted  by  man’s  selfishness  and  lust  !  How  can  the 
prayers  of  such  a  monster  be  answered  ?  “Verily,  I  say 
unto  you,”  “the  prayer  of  the  wicked  availeth  nothing.” 

Little  can  be  effected  without  freedom.  But  let  us  do 
what  we  can  in  the  union  of  minds.  Spirit  works  by 
methods  beyond  the  mind;  hence  its  laws  cannot  be  com¬ 
prehended  by  the  mind.  “  The  kingdom  of  heaven  cometh 
not  by  observation,”  i.  e.,  not  through  laws  of  mentality. 
Spirits  are  unable  to  explain  it.  I  believe  material  is 
evolved  from  the  medium,  and  combined  with  subtle  ele¬ 
ments  in  the  atmosphere  by  the  effort  of  the  will  of  some 
powerful  spirit,  or  by  the  union  of  several,  into  flowers,  ap¬ 
paritions,  spirit-forms,  clothing,  etc.,  etc.,  and  that  it  will 
yet  be  demonstrated  that  materialized  spirits  are  evolved 
f  rom  the  medium. 

But  no  matter  how  it  is  done,  the  power  that  can  make 
a  flower,  or  a  piece  of  cloth,  can  make  gold,  fruit,  bread,  or 
anything  else  desired.  All  that  is  requisite  are  conditions,  ' 
and  knowledge,  or  faith,  or  will,  or  whatever  you  feel  like 
calling  the  power.  These  manifestations  are  in  their  in¬ 
fancy  as  yet,  for,  although  as  old  as  man,  they  have  probably 
never  been  properly  understood,  or  so  universally  under¬ 
stood  by  spirits  of  a  high  and  intelligent  order  as  now. 
They  are  experimenting,  and  they  understand  fully  the 
value  of  co-operation  or  harmony.  The  much-talked-of  con¬ 
ditions  of  spiritual  manifestations  are  nothing  more  nor  less. 

Jesus,  in  view  of  this  principle,  selected  twelve  Apostles 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


211 


wlio  were  as  harmonious  with  him  as  men  can  v/ell  be. 
Blit  the  Scriptures  are  mostly  silent  in  reference  to  the 
important  part  the  women  w?ho  followed  him  took  in  the 
work  he  did.  It  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  explained  this  idea, 
to  them;  probably  this  is  the  esoteric  part  of  the  Gospel 
wrhich  wTas  never  wrritten.  It  is  reasonable  to  infer  as  much, 
for  the  early  Christians  had  everything  in  common,  thus 
striving  to  destroy  distinctions  and  to  perfect  a  union  that 
should  enable  them  to  carry  out  the  intuitions  and  work  of 
Jesus.  (See  Acts  iv.,  82.)  “And  the  multitude  of  them 
that  believed  wTere  of  one  heart  and  one  soul :  neither  said 
any  of  them  that  aught  of  the  things  which  he  possessed 
was  his  own;  but  they  had  all  things  common :  ”  that  is, 
the  writer  thought  they  were  of  “  one  heart  and  soul  ” 
because  they  tried  to  be  so. 

Why  they  gradually  lost  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  must  be 
evident  to  every  reasonable,  thoughtful  mind.  The  agree¬ 
ment  or  union  was  lost  through  the  gradual  growth  of  dis¬ 
tinctions  and  differences: — first,  of  mind;  second,  of  spirit; 
and  third,  of  material  substances  (property).  Had  they 
perfected  the  union ,  instead  of  proselyting,  they  would  have 
established  the  church  upon  a  “  rock,”  and  afterwards  the 
growth  wrould  have  been  a  steady,  healthy,  upward  growth ; 
neither  would  they  have  wanted  for  anything,  for  the  king¬ 
dom  of  harmony  contains  all  things.  “First  seek  the 
kingdom  of  heaven:  then  all  other  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you.” 

This  idea  of  union  is  corroborated  in  our  own  time,  in 
many  wTays,  notably  so  in  the  "work  of  Dr.  Hotchkiss,  of 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  known  as  “  The  Dirty  Doctor,  ”  “  The 
Snapping  Doctor,  ”  “  Color  Doctor,  ”  and,  as  he  terms  him¬ 
self,  “King  of  Magnetism.”  He  has  performed  as  many, 
if  not  more,  miraculous  cures  of  diseases  than  any  healer  of 
our  day.  In  1871,  he  had  six  apostles,  termed  by  him 


212 


SOUL -POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


“Radiators,”  who  sat  in  a  row,  at  times  silent  and  dumb,, 
behind  the  class  of  sick  which  Hotchkiss  treated  by  simply 
snapping  his  fingers.  At  other  times,  “  as  the  spirit  moved 
them,  ”  they  joined  in  the  snapping,  or  rolled  and  wallowed 
in  the  dirt  of  his  floor,  which  was  never  swept.  They  lived 
apart  from  the  world  as  much  as  possible,  and  were  celibates; 
but  Hotchkiss  had  a  wife  and  several  other  women  shut  up 
from  contact  with  other  people — as  nuns  are  kept  in  a 
convent. 

To  show  how  particular  he  was  in  regard  to  his  'women  I 
relate  the  following:  Wishing  to  see  Dr.  Hotchkiss,  and 
not  finding  him  at  his  office,  I  called  at  his  house;  a  woman 
opened  the  door  and  asked  what  I  wished.  I  explained, 
not  finding  the  Doctor  at  home,  I  wished  to  leave  a  letter 
for  him,  which  I  offered  to  her.  She  drew  back  as  if  it 
were  poison,  and  closing  the  door  in  my  face,  told  me  to 
shove  the  letter  under  his  office  door. 

We  know  very  little  of  the  subtle  influence  of  spirit,  or 
of  the  effect  that  the  inoculation  of  one  spirit  into  another 
produces.  The  shaking  of  hands  and  kissing  are  sometimes. 
injurious.  Emma  Hardinge  visited  the  Doctor,  and  has 
testified  to  his  wonderful  magnetic  power.  He  still  lives  in 
St.  Louis,  a  very  old  man,  but  as  lithe  and  supple  as  a  boy ; 
a  man  of  good  education  and  of  fine  intellectual  powers ; 
courteous  and  affable  at  times,  but  sometimes  very  rude. 
His  “Radiators”  left  him  in  1871  or  1872, 1  think,  and  he 
afterwards  had  smallpox;  still  he  heals  the  sick,  claiming 
that  he  cannot  die  till  Christ  comes.  He  is  not  a  spiritual¬ 
ist,  and  is  as  bitter  towards  spiritualism  as  any  bigot  can 
be.  His  age  is  unknown,  but  undoubtedly  it  is  very  great — 
so  great  that  he  has  been  termed  “the  wandering  Jew” 
He  is  the  dirtiest  man  I  ever  saw.  I  might  write  a  not  very 
small  book  upon  his  eccentricities,  customs,  antics  and 
cures;  but  he  never  explains  the  philosophy  of  them  to  any- 


SOUL-POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


213 


one;  or  if  lie  explains  anything  to-day,  he  explains  it 
differently  another  day.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  secret  of 
his  power  is  fast  locked  in  the  walls  where  the  women  are 
kept. 

The  power  that  comes  of  perfect  union  or  harmony  is 
wonderful.  God  dwells  in  it  !  u  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  my  name” — or  in  oneness  of  heart, 
mind,  soul  and  spirit — “there  am  I  in  the  midst.”  The 
principle  is  what  we  need — the  name  or  the  man  is  nothing; 
but  for  those  incapable  of  comprehending  a  principle,  the 
name  is  of  vital  importance.  Do  not  destroy  a  man’s  idols, 
if  he  is  incapable  of  reason. 

The  spirit,  by  union,  ascends  higher  than  if  alone;  and 
God  descends  upon  its  tide  to  bless  not  merely  those  who 
unite,  but  all  the  world  in  which  they  move.  Alas !  for  the 
angularities  and  differences  that  destroy  us.  The  secret  of 
union  is  in  self -harmony  as  a  foundation:  this  is  good,  but 
tico  is  better;  but  if  the  two  be  male  and  female ,  it  is  best. 
Magnetism  leads  thereto. 

It  behooves  me  to  add,  in  this  connection,  that  the  age  of 
wrong  and  bloodshed  is  nearly  past.  The  dawn  of  a  divine 
government  is  at  hand,  wherein  the  fundamental  principle 
of  government  is  for  the  moral  benefit  of  the  person  punished 
and  not  primarily  for  the  protection  of  society.  As  a  tender 
and  kind  father  corrects  his  child  for  the  child’s  good,  and 
not  to  vindicate  his  power  or  authority  in  the  least,  so  will 
society  deal  with  its  weak  members. 

Crime  will  be  treated  as  a  disease  of  the  mind,  and  hospi¬ 
tals  will  take  the  place  of  jails,  penitentiaries  and  scaffolds. 
Instead  of  physicians,  chaplains  and  guards,  there  shall  be 
a  few  chosen  ones  who,  united  in  mind  and  soul,  shall  pour 
the  psychological  power  of  the  angel-world  upon  criminals 
of  all  classes,  and  they  shall  be  healed;  for  under  this 
influence  certain  organs  of  the  brain  may  be  rendered 


214 


SOUL -POWERS  AND  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


inoperative,  and  other  organs  may  be  called  into  activity; 
thus  the  morally  weak  may  be  strengthened,  and  the 
depraved  shall  be  made  to  loathe  and  despise  their  deprav¬ 
ity;  this  can  be  done  in  secret  without  the  criminal’s 
knowledge. 

Who  shall  lead  off  in  this  great  moral  work  ?  Psychom- 
etry  will  reveal  the  peculiarities  of  children  and  adults,  and 
those  needing  treatment  will  be  treated  and  trained  with¬ 
out  the  rod  and  the  dunce- cap.  There  will  be  no  escape 
for  the  criminal,  for  the  mediums  will  point  them  out — for 
their  good  primarily,  and  secondly,  for  the  good  of  society. 
The  weak  will  be  known  before  a  manifestation  of  weak¬ 
ness — or,  rather,  the  commission  of  crime.  The  time  will 
come,  and  that  speedily,  when  from  the  Temples  of  the 
Rose  Cross  such  power  shall  be  breathed  out  upon  the 
people,  so  gently,  and  so  peacefully,  that  none  shall  be  dis¬ 
posed  to  do  any  one  a  wrong. 

The  whole  people  shall  join  in  one  grand  Psychological 
effort  to  banish  disease  and  death  from  the  land.  Who 
shall  say  it  will  not  be  done  ?  Who  will  be  the  first  to 
enroll  their  names  among  the  Temple-builders  and 
pioneers  of  the  millenium  ? 

Who  is  there,  of  all  who  read  this  book,  that  are  willing 
to  “  Try  ?”  This  is  the  magic  watchword,  Try  !  The 
principles  conveyed  in  the  foregoing  pages  are  sufficient  to 
form  a  basis  of  union,  and  he  or  she  who  feels  in  harmony 
therewith,  and  is  willing  to  “  Try,”  will  find  “  The  Door”  to 
such  union  indicated  in  the  dedication  of  this  work.  To  all 
such  I  say  :  “  Knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you  I 

Seek,  and  ye  shall  find  !” 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


SPIRITUALITY. 

There  is  a  spirit  pervading  the  universe,  known  under 
the  appellation  of  God,  which  is  embodied  in  man  as  well  as 
in  everything  else  that  exists.  But  particularly  to  man  is  it 
given  to  call  the  spirit,  which  is  individualized  as  himself, 
“My  Spirit.”  We  speak  of  our  spirits,  souls,  bodies,  etc., 
as  we  do  of  our  property.  And  so  they  are.  We  may  lose 
our  spirits  as  we  do  our  property. 

In  the  creation  of  man  God  is  reversed — or  He  has  turned 
man  loose,  to  range  as  he  will  with  his  back  towards  the 
Creator.  Hence  the  cry,  “  Turn  ye  !  turn  ye  !  for  why  will 
you  die.”  This  is  the  reason  why  man  has  no  knowledge 
of  the  future — light  is  behind  and  he  has  only  memory,  or 
experience,  as  his  guide.  God  is  within  him,  but  he  is- 
all  unconscious  thereof,  and  looks  to  outside  nature  for  all 
that  he  can  hope  for  and  fear.  Truly  he  must  turn — if  he 
would  find  the  source  of  his  life — and  examine  himself. 

W e  all  have  spirits,  but  none  of  us  are  spirits — and  never 
ivill  be;  for  the  moment  the  body  dies,  and  the  soul  has  left  it, 
the  spirit  hovering  around,  and  enveloping  the  soul,  begins 
a  process  of  organization  of  another  form.  This  other 
form  is  material.  True,  it  is  in  another  condition — and  is 
invisible  to  us,  but  it  may  not  be  in  an  apparitional  state 
at  all — nor  in  so  close  a  relationship  to  this  earth  as  to 
come  under  its  laws. 

Furthermore,  the  life  the  person  has  led  has  an  effect 
upon  his  spirit;  and  in  most  cases  the  soul  has  not  attained 


216 


SPIRITUALITY. 


sufficient  consciousness  to  enable  it  to  control  and  better 
its  organization — consequently,  it  comes  into  another  state 
of  being  in  a  worse  condition  than  this.  But  soul  and  mind 
in  union — consciousness  remains,  and  the  soul  has  control 
of  the  spirit  to  enable  it  to  improve  a  little  upon  its  organi¬ 
zation.  In  most  men  soul  and  mind  are  too  far  apart. 
The  mind  wrapped  up  in  mundane  affairs  is  a  blind  mind — 
it  dies  at  death,  or  shortly  thereafter  for  want  of  use. 
There  are  no  spirits  except  embodied  spirits.  Anger  does 
not  exist  except  in  some  form — Love  is  Infinite  Spirit — the 
creator  and  sustainer  of  all  that  exists.  But  such  spirits 
as  pride,  lust,  anger,  etc.,  are  simply  love  fallen  from  its 
pure  state.  Hence  the  legend  of  a  fallen  angel  is  founded 
in  truth.  Love  reversed  is  man’s  self-love.  Without  this 
self-love  no  spirit  of  anger,  pride,  etc.,  etc.,  could  exist,  for 
these  dark  spirits  all  spring  from  self-love. 

So  it  may  be  readily  seen  that  love  is  the  creator — the 
fountain — and  that  all  that  flows  therefrom  must  be  of  the 
same  nature — and  all  things  are  love  in  some  form  or 
other.  A  man  may  love  himself  with  such  intensity  as  to 
finally  hate  himself,  and  his  very  existence.  “  The  sweetest 
things  make  the  strongest  acid.” 

The  warmest  friends  often  become  the  very  wTorst 
enemies.  The  hottest  love,  when  cold,  pro  luces  the  dead¬ 
liest  hate.  Love  is  the  only  creator — our  Father,  our 
providence,  our  life. 

Love  being  a  spirit,  he  who  hath  the  most  of  it  is  the 
most  spiritual  in  its  highest  sense,  because  this  spirit  is 
boundless — while  all  other  spirits  are  limited  and  finite,  for 
that  which  falls  must  find  the  centre,  when  it  loses  itself  in 
the  universal  darkness  of  non-conditions — inertia. 

Lust  is  Lucifer  (“son  of  the  morning”)  fallen  love — 
or  a  fallen  angel.  How  does  love  fall  ?  The  same  as  the 


SPIRITUALITY. 


217 


sunlight  falls  into  matter — or  becomes  matter.  (See  chap¬ 
ter  1st.) 

So  our  spirit  centres  in  an  inner  sun,  from  which  it 
radiates.  This  sun  is  self-love.  This  is  the  centre  of  our 
individuality.  Its  light  or  life  is  pure  at  first— i.  e .,  white, 
without  color  or  shade — but  being  involved  in  circumstances 
of  a  sensuous  nature,  it  soon  gets  broken  or  refracted,  and 
we  begin  to  love  things  foreign,  or  outside  of  ourselves. 
This  draws  the  central  sun  from  a  fixed  or  stationary  state 
into  an  orbit — or  in  other  words  it  has  fallen  from  the  soul 
into  mind. 

Now,  the  love  of  a  virgin  soul  is  a  pure,  fixed  star  of  the 
first  magnitude — a  sun  shedding  an  immortal  light — which 
when  it  has  fallen  away  to  others,  has  become  of  the  mind — 
of  thought,  calculation,  vanity,  pride,  etc. — a  wandering 
star  of  lesser  magnitude — shedding  a  weaker  light — and 
finally  falling  into  darkness,  or  the  body — and  here  known 
as  lust,  or  physical  love — still  sinking  lower  down  it 
becomes  disgust,  hate,  and  all  that  is  devilish. 

Strange  that  the  beautiful  Angel  Love,  Spirit — should 
have  fallen  so  low  as  to  become  dark  matter  !  Yet  so  it  is. 
From  mind  the  descent  of  spirit  into  matter  is  rapid  and 
easy.  Love  is  not  of  the  mind  until  it  falls  thereunto.  The 
world  is  full  of  mental  love — and  also  of  crime  ;  but  soul 
love  is  very  scarce. 

Spirituality  is  now  a  mere  name.  Let  me  tell  you  what 
it  is  not.  It  is  not  materiality — nor  sensuality.  It  is  not 
in  gold,  silver,  houses  and  lands.  It  is  not  in  the  govern¬ 
ments  of  this  world — nor  in  the  “ big  I”  of  yourself.  It 
comes  not  from  education — nor  is  it  morality — nor  honesty — 
nor  what  the  world  calls  virtue — nor  benevolence — nor  the 
loftiest  reason — nor  does  it  come  from  justice.  It  comes 
not  from  a  belief  in  spiritualism,  the  attending  of  circles, 
and  the  accepting  what  any  medium  or  trance  speaker  may 


218 


SPIRITUALITY. 


teach.  It  cannot  be  imparted  by  any  preaching,  praying 
nor  sighing.  The  merits,  life,  sufferings  and  death  of  Jesus 
on  the  cross  cannot  impart  it  to  any  one.  No  hearsay  or 
reading  can  make  you  spiritual.  You  must  experience  and 
feel  the  truth  in  yourself ,  in  your  own  soul. 

Truth  is  to  be  truthful  and  true  to  the  light  of  conscious¬ 
ness.  But  the  consciousness  not  lighted  by  the  fires  of 
love  is  no  guide.  Intellectual  light  is  not  of  love — but  if 
it  unite  with  love,  then  is  it  quickened  and  made  alive  by 
the  spirit.  This  illuminates  the  mind.  When  truth  unites 
with  love  in  the  soul  there  is  a  Generation — a  striking  out 
as  of  fire— and  a  flame  is  produced.  This  flame  is  the  com¬ 
forter  and  the  guide. 

“Love  God”  (“a  spirit ’’-love)  “with  your  whole  mind, 
might  and  strength  ” — and  “  worship  hih  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.”  The  love  of  God  is  the  love  of  one  woman — do  you 
know  what  worship  is  ?  Bo  you  know  how — or  can  you 
enter  into  the  Spirit  ?  Is  worship  really  the  praying,  sing¬ 
ing  and  preaching  we  are  taught  it  is  ?  To  enter  into  the 
Spirit  is  to  be  illuminated.  We  are  sunk  so  low  down  that 
we  know  of  love  only  in  its  lowest  phase — and  here  man 
must  commence  to  climb  the  ladder  to  true  love.  When  a 
man  truly  loves  a  woman  his  mind  has  reached  a  lofty 
plane  of  thought — for  he  loves  her  soul  and  spirit,  and  not 
her  form. 

Spirit — God — Love,  are  synonymous  terms,  and  the  spirit 
of  an  unfallen  woman  is  God — Love.  When  this  love  enters 
a  man’s  soul  he  loves  all  that  are  born  of  woman — Nay! 
More !  he  loves  all  created  things,  because  love  hath  made 
them  all — and  they  are  all  lovely  when  rightly  viewed. 

Love,  and  worship  love,  in  truth  then,  void  of  all  pre¬ 
tense,  for  this  is  spirituality.  No  pretense  can  pass  muster 
within  yourself.  The  all-seeing  eye  is  there — and  the  book 
that  contains  your  life  is  there — and  the  judge  is  there  also 


SPIRITUALITY. 


219 


who  receives  no  excuses.  Worship  God  in  the  spirit  of  love 
and  in  truth — i.  e .,  in  the  conscious  enlightened  mind — for 
truth  is  of  the  understanding — in  which  the  voice  of  love  is 
heard. 

Those  who  turn  within  themselves,  and  pluck  the  motes 
out  of  the  mind’s  eye  become  reversed  or  turned  around  in 
their  understanding  and  very  nature,  and  they  see  things 
in  a  reversed  light.  This  turning  has  already  given  birth  to 
“ Christian  or  Mental  Science”— in  the  practice  of  which 
the  worst  diseases  are  healed;  with  much  thought  and 
labor  truly — as  if  God’s  spirit  was  far  away  and  needed  much 
coaxing  to  induce  it  to  enter  in  and  heal  the  sick.  Still.,  a 
wonderful  advance  has  been  made — and  this  class  of 
teachers  are  the  advance  guard  in  spirituality.  But  the 
time  comes  speedily  when  diseases  of  every  name  and 
nature  will  be  healed  by  a  touch,  or  a  word,  by  the  true 
Christian  and  spiritually  inspired  man. 

This  Metaphysical  School  teaches  that  all  that  exists  is 
spirit — that  matter  is  only  an  appearance  of  spirit,  and  has 
no  reality  in  it — that  pain  and  disease  are  simply  a  dis¬ 
ordered  mind,  and  have  no  existence  outside  of  mind — 
that  evil  has  no  existence — that  all  is  good  or  God;  and 
much  more  to  the  same  effect,  which  is  just  the  opposite  or 
reverse  of  our  every-day  life,  understanding  and  experience. 
I  need  hardly  say  that  this  is  true  from  a  lofty  standpoint — 
and  practically  true  in  its  application  to  the  healing  of  all 
who  are  receptive  of  spirit,  and  who  can  elevate  the  under¬ 
standing. 

Vvho  so  receptive  as  those  who  have  languished  upon  beds 
of  pain  and  sickness  till  hope  has  well  nigh  fled?  Who  so 
ready  to  embrace  the  new  as  those  who  have  exhausted 
the  drug  stores  and  the  combined  wisdom  of  the  old- school 
scientific  methods  ? 


220 


SPIRITUALITY. 


If  there  is  any  truth  in  Christianity,  it  certainly  is  m 
healing  the  sick.  This  power  dwells  in  spirituality. 

He  who  gazes  at  the  stars  loses  sight  of  the  earth  and 
what  it  contains.  So  it  is  with  one  who  persistently  turns 
his  mind  inward  (upward.)  He  loses  sight  of  his  surround¬ 
ings,  and  his  other  senses  are  absorbed  in  feelings,  and  he 
is  conscious  only  of  sights  and  sounds  born  of  ecstacy. 
So  he  who  fixes  his  thought  upon  the  realm  of  spirit,  loses 
himself  in  spirit,  and  he  becomes  charged  with  greatness 
and  power  altogether  different  from  his  nature.  His  mind 
becomes  cognizant  of  other  than  mundane  laws ;  Ms  memory 
is  suspended,  and  he  is  no  longer  weak,  because  he  has  lost 
sight  of  himself — he  is  no  longer  under  the  law  of  disease 
for  he  has  forgotten  the  laws  of  heredity— he  is  no  longer 
a  sinner  for  what  he  has  been  led  to  do  in  his  blindness  he 
recognizes  has  been  done  for  his  good,  and  he  is  thankful 
for  all  things.  Piercing  through  the  gloom  and  the  shadow 
of  mundane  things  he  senses  the  great  good  God  who  orders 
all  things  well;  and  in  his  soul  he  cries  out  “Not  my  will, 
Pather  !  but  thine  be  done !  ”  He  can  behold  nothing  but 
loveliness  and  beauty  everywhere — and  oft  in  his  contem¬ 
plation  is  rendered  unfit  for  the  stern  struggle  of  this 
demoniac  mammon  worshipping  world. 

“  He  that  putteth  his  hand  to  the  plow,  and  looketh  back 
is  not  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'5  “  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  within  you.55  Many  imagine  that  because 
they  are  worn  out  and  disgusted  with  everything  of  a 
sexual  nature  that  they  are  spiritually  minded — not  so,  my 
friends!  The  spiritual  love  all  things ,  and  recognize  that 
Infinite  incomprehensible  wisdom  has  made  nothing  in 
vain  or  unlovely.  Infinite  charity  and  mercy  has  found  a 
lodgment  in  their  hearts,  and  they  condemn  nothing. 
Man  is  only  half  a  man  without  a  woman  to  love,  and  the 
same  applies  to  a  woman.  Woe  to  him  or  her  whose  love 


SPIRITUALITY. 


221 


has  turned  to  disgust  !  Better  “turn  to  the  Lord”  quickly. 
“As  a  man  thinketh  so  is  he.”  “He  that  is  bom  of  God 
(Love)  doth  not  commit  sin,”  etc.,  (John)  so  love  must  be 
the  way  out  of  sin — the  strait  and  narrow  way  leading  to  sal¬ 
vation — salvation  from  what  ?  From  our  own  meanness 
and  weakness  ! 

Love  being  a  spirit,  if  a  man  lose  his  love,  he  loses  his 
spirit.  Can  he  regain  it  ?  Not  easily.  Such  go  out  of  life 
naked  and  deformed — to  be  re-incarnated  as  other  beings — 
but  he  that  becomes  spiritual,  becomes  more  and  more  con¬ 
scious,  as  the  love  gestates  within  him,  and  in  time  is  born, 
of  the  spirit,  a  son  of  God. 

The  spirit  is  that  which  gathers  around  the  soul  at  death 
to  form  another  body  like  unto  the  one  that  died.  What, 
if  you  have  little  or  no  spirit  to  form  a  divine  body 
of  ?  You  become  a  phantom-shape — lost  in  space,  without 
home  or  a  resting  place — drawn  here  and  there,  by  any 
breath  of  attraction — to  become  anything.  Vampires  are 
partly  of  this  nature.  Spirituality  is  our  only  hope — the 
only  salvation.  Christ  taught  this.  “  Not  every  one  that 
saith  Lord,  Lord!  shall  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but 
he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.” 
God’s  will  is  that  we  “love  one  another.”  Owe  no  man 
anything — not  even  love — pay  it.  The  mind  tilled  with 
love  becomes  light  with  spirit — and  gradually  loses  the 
feeling  of  mine  and  thine — there  is  no  feeling  of  blame 
and  censure  of  others,  but  it  rather  weeps  great  tears  of  pity 
and  charity  over  failures. 

There  is  no  turning  back  of  the  mind  into  memoiy  of 
past  deeds — the  stirring  up  of  the  rotting  tilth  of  the  corpse 
of  the  past — thus  bringing  it  along  with  the  spirit ,  living  it 
over  and  over  again,  forcing  the  dead  to  become  the  living 
—  -or  to  become  the  atoms  of  the  body  to  its  disease  and 
death.  In  this  forgetfulness  of  the  past  is  forgiveness 


222 


SPIBITUALITY. 


possible.  Heredity  cannot  exist  save  as  memory  bolds  it  in 
tbe  consciousness.  It  is  a  wise  provision  that  death  wipes 
out  the  past  so  far  as  memory  is  concerned.  Some  would 
like  to  know  what  they  have  been  in  previous  existences; 
but  this  knowledge  is  wisely  withheld.  In  our  now  un¬ 
balanced  state  insanity  would  be  the  result  of  such  knowl¬ 
edge. 

Who  are  the  unhappy  ?  Those  who  brood  over  the  past, 
and  are  always  thinking  how  “  it  might  have  been  !”  Who 
is  it  that  is  morose  and  sour  but  those  who  recognize  no 
wise  providence  at  the  helm  of  this  ship  of  life  ?  These  are 
the  sick  ones.  Spirituality  gives  hope  and  cheerfulness — 
even  in  the  most  adverse  circumstances.  In  proportion  as 
the  past  recedes  does  the  future  unfold,  and  an  intuitive 
feeling  of  rest,  security  and  safety  takes  the  place  of 
anxiety  and  uncertainty.  This  can  only  come  from  the 
love  of  some  one  of  the  opposite  sex.  The  reason  is  very 
simple.  In  the  love  of  another,  self-love  has  expanded,  and 
self  is  forgotten  in  the  love  of  a  “better  half.”  True  love 
is  not  a  selfish  love,  and  really  the  love  of  another  of  the 
opposite  sex  is  not  a  love  of  something  foreign  to  yourself, 
but  it  is  a  love  of  a  larger  and  better  self.  Such  lose 
themselves  in  the  one  loved.  He  that  does  good  for  the 
sake  of  attaining  Nirwana — will  fall  far  short  of  it.  Why  ? 
Because  his  love  is  only  self- love — and  not  a  love  of  the 
good — for  the  good  is  all.  “  He  that  would  lose  his  life 
for  my  sake  shall  find  it” — means  more  than  many  suppose. 
He  that  ioses  himself  in  love  shall  find  himself  immortal  in 
that  love. 

The  first  command  is  “  love  God.”  Why  must  this  be 
first  ?  If  the  love  of  your  neighbor  is  in  reality  the  love 
of  God,  the  first  is  altogether  superfluous,  and  the  love  of 
your  neighbor  becomes  first  and  principal.  The  fact  is  the 


SPIRITUALITY. 


223 


two  loves  are  different;  and  here  lies  the  true  definition  of 
Spirituality. 

“  God  is  a  Spirit” — then  he  is  not  a  personality — but  is 
a  formless  substance;  and  absolutely  incomprehensible  to 
us.  Having  no  form  He  has  no  beauty  to  lure  man  into 
worship  !  for  we  all  love  and  reverence  beauty.  Having  no 
form,  how  vain  the  making  of  images,  in  the  likeness  of 
mundane  things,  to  represent  Him.  Having  no  form,  how 
childish  do  all  forms  and  ceremonies  appear  in  his  service ! 
Having  no  form,  he  has  no  attributes,  such  as  we  have, 
wherewith  we  may  clothe  a  mental  linage  of  Him,  to  love 
and  reverence!  Forms  are  eternally  changing— but  that 
which  is  formless  changes  not.  We  are  so  constituted  that 
we  must  see  something — either  in  the  mind  or  with  physical 
eyes — in  order  to  love.  The  mind  sees  attributes — the  eye 
sees  forms — and  John  saw  the  attribute  love  in  his  mind, 
which  he  called  God — but  Jesus  saw  a  spirit  which  lio 
clothed  to  suit  the  natural  mind,  with  the  attributes  of 
Father.  But  u  Gautama”  soared  above  all  human  attributes 
and  passions;  and  stripped  creation  bare  of  all  garments  of 
beauty;  in  the  conception  of  Indifference.  He  ignored  all 
emotions,  and  all  spirits  as  an  ultimate — hut  yet  the  road 
thereto  led  through  love .  We  of  the  Bosy  Cross  cling  to 
Jesus  because  of  his  humanity.  We  do  not  wish  any  spirit¬ 
uality  beyond  love — for  this  is  of  active,  creative  use.  To 
love  God  then  is  the  first  principle — this  when  disconnected 
with  human  attributes  becomes  totally  impossible.  To  love 
something  foreign  to  ourselves  is  repugnant  to  the  very 
nature  of  love.  Now  woman  is  part  and  parcel  of  our  whole 
nature,  and  to  love  her  is  very  natural — but  the  love  we  give 
her  is  not  such  as  we  give  our  neighbor.  In  the  latter 
there  is  no  leaping  of  the  heart,  as  a  caged  bird  leaps  for 
freedom — no  exaltation  to  total  forgetfulness  of  self,  and  all 
surroundings,  and  consequences — no  disconnection  of  self 


224 


SPIBITUALITY. 


from  reason  and  consideration — no  blending  and  interchange 
of  our  most  inner  sensibilities — no  ecstatic  trembling  upon 
the  very  coniines  of  a  blissful  state  we  call  heaven: — 
but  on  the  contrary,  in  our  love  for  our  neighbor  we  become 
more  considerate,  reasonable  and  thoughtful  of  consequences ; 
not  impulsive,  but  deliberate  in  action — “to  do  as  we 
would  be  done  by.  ”  In  fact  to  “  love  your  neighbor  as 
yourself,”  is  to  become  more  truly  human;  while  to  love 
your  wife  with  “your  whole  mind,  might  and  strength,”  is  to 
become  totally  absorbed  in  her  being,  and  to  lose  yourself 
in  a  contemplation  that  speedily  destroys  all  selfish  passions 
and  desires — not  because  she  is  yours  do  you  love  her ,  but 
because  she  is  woman — your  best  nature — and  nearer  to  love 
(or  God)  than  you  are.  So  out  of  the  dark  abysses  of  pas¬ 
sion — out  of  the  loathsome  crypts  of  this  fallen  nature  does 
spirituality  take  its  rise.  That  form  of  beauty  which 
pleases  your  eyes,  leads  only  downward  or  outward  to  the 
losing  of  your  spirit  in  things  foreign  to  yourself; — but 
mental  images,  or  ideal  attributes  of  woman,  change  as  the 
spirit  becomes  luminous ;  hence  there  is  no  idolatry  in  this 
worship — nor  adultery  either.  The  Hebrew  prophets 
always  referred  to  the  worship  of  false  Gods  as  “  whoring 
after  other  Gods.”  Why  should  they  apply  this  term 
to  worship  if  sex  is  not  involved.  See  Psalms  cxxvii,  3, 
Pent,  xxiii,  1,  Num.  xxxi,  18-35,  I  Sam.  ii,  22,  Gen.  vi,  2. 
Whence  came  the  Jewish  rite  of  circumcision  ?  The 
ancient  religions  were  all  based  in  the  love  nature.  Jesus 
inculcated  the  same  ideas  evidently,  and  made  a  sweeping 
and  broad  distinction  between  true  and  false  worship.  “  But 
I  say  unto  you,  that  whoso  looketh  upon  a  woman  to  lust 
after  her  hath  committed  adultery  already  in  his  heart.” 
The  false  is  the  visual — true  worship  is  in  spirit  and  in  truth 
— within  the  mind — ivithout  lust — formless.  The  mind  truly 


SPIRITUALITY. 


225 


illuminated  by  spirit,  has  no  forms  in  it,  either  of  beauty 
or  deformity ;  for  it  is  vacant  of  thought. 

Consequently  there  can  be  no  judgment  of  right  and 
wrong,  of  good  and  evil,  and  no  censure  of  others  in  the 
truly  spiritual.  Spirituality  then  takes  its  rise  from  a  con¬ 
templation — or  worship — of  the  formless  principle  of 
creation  as  symbolized  in  the  feminine  spirit  of  ourselves. 
The  spiritual  cannot  do  a  wrong  to  another,  because  it  is 
not  aggressive  nor  selfish. 

i 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


“  ROSICBUCI2E.” 

Beference  lias  been  made  in  the  preceding  pages  to  the 
Bosicrucians ;  and  the  work  in  the  main  is  claimed  to  be  an 
embodiment  of  their  principles  :  not  all  bodied  forth,  how¬ 
ever,  by  any  one  sect,  class,  clime  or  era;  and  it  is  well,  in 
closing,  to  anticipate  the  query  as  to  who,  what  and  where 
are  the  Bosicrucians  ?  That  will  naturally  arise  in  the 
minds  of  most  people,  because  there  is  so  little  known  of 
them. 

The  Bosicrucians  may  more  properly  be  termed  a  frater¬ 
nity  than  an  order;  albeit  many  attempts  have  been  made 
in  modern  times  to  materialize  it  as  an  order,  some  of 
which  are  a  success,  though  of  necessity  veiled  in  profound 
secrecy.  The  Bosicrucians  are  numerous — of  all  nationali¬ 
ties  and  all  climes;  but  they  are  scattered.  They  meet 
occasionally — not  drawn  together  by  “  press  notices  ”  or  the 
ringing  of  bells,  but  by  the  moving  and  drawing  of  the 
spirit — as  “  of  one  accord.” 

They  were  known  in  history  among  the  other  appellations 
as  the  Essenes,  the  Illuminati,  etc.,  but  since  Christian 
Bosencrutz’s  time,  as  the  Bosicrucians.  It  was  evidently 
once  the  universal  religion — long  ere  written  history  began; 
for  evidences  of  “  EiRE-worship  ”  are  scattered  over  all 
the  earth  in  the  form  of  Bosicrucian  symbols. 

The  curious  reader  is  referred  to  Hargrave  Jennings’ 
great  work,  entitled  “  The  Bosicrucians,”  published  in  Eng¬ 
land.  There  was  a  time  when  all  learned  men  believed  in 
magic,  (another  term  for  magnetism),  and  those  who  studied 
the  occult  forces  of  nature,  and  practiced  the  powers  derived 
therefrom,  were  styled  priests,  and  later,  magicians  ;  but 


EOSICEUCI^. 


227 


after  the  destruction  of  the  Magi  of  Persia,  and  during  the 
rise  of  Catholicism,  magic  became  associated  with  the  idea 
of  diabolism,  and  was  styled  “  Black  Art,  ”  and  all  who 
practiced  it  were  shunned,  and  sometimes  hunted  to 
death. 

Wherever  God  is  found  among  men  you  will  find  a  spirit 
of  investigation  into  the  mysteries  of  being,  and  a  corres¬ 
ponding  love  of  freedom  ;  hence,  the  true  man  is  free  to 
dig  deep  or  take  intellectual  flights — aye,  even  to  God’s 
throne,  and  there  question  him  face  to  face.  There  is 
nothing  too  sacred  or  secret  for  him  to  question  for  the 
truth. 

Recognizing  the  possibility  of  the  great  good  God,  and 
the  impossibility  of  the  Devil,  they  laughed  in  secret,  (for 
they  dared  not  even  smile  publicly),  at  priests,  bishops, 
cardinals  and  popes,  and  treasured  the  ancient  lore  in 
cypher,  and  worshipped  the  undying,  unquenchable  fire, 
while  they  dwelt  in  caves,  or  fled  before  the  terrors  of  the 
inquisition.  This  revived  the  ancient  Pagan  secret  societies 
and  mysteries. 

To  learn  and  know  something  more  than  ordinary  is 
dangerous  when  such  knowdedge  is  unpopular,  or  at  least, 
when  the  masses  are  ruled  by  ignorance  and  superstition. 
It  was  at  the  cost  of  life  to  be  known  as  a  member  of  such 
secret  orders — hence  arose  the  proverbial  secrecy  of  the 
brethren  of  the  Rosy  Ceoss.  Time  was  wrhen  no  man  would 
admit  that  he  belonged  to  that  mystic  fraternity  ;  further¬ 
more,  they  shrouded  themselves  in  a  cloud  of  mysteries — 
not,  perhaps,  with  a  view  of  mystifying  others  so  much  as 
from  the  idea  that  all  power  is  a  mystery,  and  that  “  God’s 
ways  are  mysterious  and  past  finding  out,”  and  they  wish 
to  be  God-like.  Furthermore,  Rosicrucians  have  learned 
from  past  experience,  that  popularity  is  a  dangerous  thing  ; 
upon  this  rock  all  religious  systems  have  foundered.  Tho 


228 


ROSICRUCIvE. 


Magi  of  Egypt,  Arabia,  Persia  and  Assyria,  in  ancient 
.times  were  the  ruling  class— they  were  the  priesthood  and 
ruled  the  crowned  heads,  and  had  charge  of  the  education 
of  such  as  were  eligible  thereto.  They  recognized  that  the 
equality  of  man  was  based  in  his  elevation  ;  and  that 
undeveloped  man  must  of  necessity  be  ruled.  To  such  as 
are  not  capable  of  self-government,  education  is  an  evil. 
They  knew  as  we  know  to-day  that  the  only  true  education 
is  of  the  heart.  To  attain  this  end  they  established  religious 
systems,  and  the  common  people  were  taught  as  children 
are  taught — with  stories  or  fables  ;  while  the  priests  kept 
for  their  own  use  ideas  altogether  different.  Their  ideas 
expressed  as  allegories  entered  into — and  became  the 
foundation  of  quite  all  the  religious  systems  of  the  civilized 
world.  From  the  ancients  came  all  the  symbolism  of  the 
world.  It  is  woven  into  art,  customs,  literature  and  science, 
as  well  as  religious  systems.  Our  Bible  is  full  of  Bosicru- 
cian  lore — not  however  known  under  that  name  at  that, 
or  any  other  time.  For  Bosicrucise  has  little  respect  for 
names.  While  at  all  times  leading  the  world,  it  assumes 
names  to  suit  circumstances,  and  of  itself  is  hidden  and  not 
known.  Why  ?  Because  it  is  a  spiritual  organization  (if 
it  can  be  called  such)  and  works  wholly  in  spirit.  Its 
methods  are  not  the  world’s  methods.  We  worship  fire — 
but  this  fire  is  not  material  fire.  Says  one  of  the  Bible 
Prophets — “Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire.”  All  thrones, 
and  crowns  grow  out  of  popularity.  And  now  the  masses 
have  turned  upon  them,  and  their  days  are  numbered. 
Where  are  the  ancient  Magi  ?  Gone  with  the  grandeur  of 
the  countries  wherein  they  flourished  !  The  very  circum¬ 
stances  they  created  overwhelmed  them  and  they  have  sunk 
to  rise  no  more.  The  fate  of  all  nations  and  religions  is 
the  same — still  the  Bosy  Cross  principles  remain  and  keep 
along  with  the  people  ;  unseen  but  not  unfelt. 


ROSICRUCIiE. 


229 


Another  reason  for  secrecy  is  this  :  The  most  potent 
forces  of  nature  are  silent  and  secret.  They  manifest  them¬ 
selves  openly  at  times,  but  are  mainly  hidden.  Behold  the 
earthquake  and  the  cyclone  !  Think  you  there  is  no  power 
in  silence  ? 

Bosicrucise  is  intensely  and  transcendentally  spiritual — 
hence,  it  has  nothing  in  common  with  materialism,  except 
intellectually,  and  even  then  the  conclusions  of  materialism 
are  all  reversed.  It  has  no  affinity  with  this  mammon¬ 
worshipping  age — hence,  it  has  no  golden  basis  or  “  insur¬ 
ance  plan  ”  to  lure  men  into  a  semblance  of  brotherly  love 
and  fellowship.  Unobtrusive,  unpretending  men,  they 
pass  mainly  unnoticed  through  life;  they  look  with  pity 
upon  a  world  of  gold  and  treasure- gatherers  as  upon  children 
heaping  dirt  in  the  streets.  No  wonder  such  men  are  not 
understood ;  they  are  in  the  world,  but  they  feel  they  are 
not  of  it,  and  they  wish  to  get  done  with  it  as  quietly  as 
possible.  Knowing  they  can  leave  it  only  by  doing  good, 
they  are  always  secretly  doing  all  within  their  power. 
Indeed,  they  are  conscious  of  having  been  sent  here  for  that 
purpose — to  help  the  world  in  its  efforts  to  humanize  the 
race. 

The  Alchemists  of  the  middle  ages  believed  in  the 
“  Elixir  of  Life  and  the  Philosopher’s  Stone,”  and  dili¬ 
gently  sought  for  them.  To  drink  of  the  former  was  eternal 
youth  and  life ;  the  latter  was  sought  as  a  universal  solvent, 
in  the  use  of  which  the  baser  metals  were  changed  or  trans¬ 
muted  into  pure,  virgin  gold.  No  wonder  these  men  were 
called  insane;  but,  nevertheless,  they  gave  the  world  the 
principles  of  chemistry  and  medicine. 

Think  you  such  men  were  fools  ?  Nay  !  but  they  had  an 
idea  which  the  masses  could  not  comprehend,  and  they 
masked  it  in  material  that  they  could  grasp.  No  philoso¬ 
pher  ever  supposed  for  a  moment  that  matter  in  any  form 


230 


ROSICRUCIiE. 


could  confer  immortality  upon  any  other  form  whatever,  for 
there  is  no  changeless  substance  in  existence.  That  there 
is  a  power  in  the  human  soul  capable  of  eternally  renewing 
youth  and  beauty  is  a  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  Rosy  Cross. 

As  to  the  transmutation  of  metals,  it  is  not  only  possible, 
but  true.  The  idea  is  of  kin  to  the  first ;  (they  constitute 
“  the  Secret”  of  the  order;)  and  has  already  been  explained 
as  transmutation  of  spirits  into  forms  of  matter;  such  as 
cloth,  flowers,  bread,  wine,  or  any  metal.  The  Rosicrucian 
concealed  the  real  idea  of  transmutation  under  the  title  of 
transmutation  of  metals  or  the  changing  of  one  form  into 
another.  Many  alchemists  tried  to  reduce  the  spiritual  gift 
of  creation  into  a  material  science;  and  it  is  said  some  few 
succeeded  so  far  as  they  were  individually  concerned;  but  to 
the  true  Rosicrucian  the  latter  is  of  no  value  whatever, 
further  than  as  used  in  the  middle  ages  as  an  excuse  to  stop 
too  close  espionage,  and  to  compel  not  only  the  respect  of 
common  people,  but  the  patronage  and  protection  of  those 
in  authority;  for  the  practice  of  alchemy,  or  dealing  even 
with  his  “  Satanic  Majesty”  for  the  purpose  of  enriching 
the  earth  with  gold,  would  be  deemed  a  laudable  avocation. 
They,  at  least,  found  protection  in  it,  although  prizing  it 
not — for  the  true  adept  has  all  he  needs  of  all  things  with¬ 
out  resorting  to  any  such  resource,  for  he  needs  but  little. 

There  is  a  providence  for  every  man  and  woman  who 
stands  high  enough  in  the  scale  of  being  to  be  conscious  of 
it,  and  to  be  its  recipients.  The  ravens  fed  the  prophet 
Elijah  in  the  olden  time. 

Not  every  man  can  be  an  adept  in  anything,  for  this 
capability  is  born  in  a  man  as  genius  is.  Neither  is  it  pos¬ 
sible  for  every  man  to  be  a  Rosicrucian,  no  more  than  edu¬ 
cation  can  impart  sense;  or  no  more  than  a  child  born  blind 
could  be  made  a  master  artist  by  learning  the  terms  used  to 
designate  the  philosophy  of  light  and  shade  and  blending 


ROSICRUCIiE. 


231 


of  colors.  There  must  be  an  innate  feeling  of  rapture  at  the 
bare  idea  of  mystery ;  a  hunger  and  thirst  for  the  unknown, 
and  a  conscious  and  abiding  belief  in  one’s  own  immortality. 

Such  are  initiated  with  profit  to  themselves  and  mankind; 
for  in  Rosicrucia’s  Temple  they  eat  and  are  filled,  and  drink 
to  thirst  no  more.  Here  they  find  teachers  and  brothers. 
We  are  the  children  of  “the  Shadow,”  and  we  love  it, 
though  oft  we  may  not  see  the  way  clearly  through  tear- 
dimmed  eyes,  yet  we  cry  out  in  our  anguish,  “  Not  my  will, 
Father,  but  thine  be  done  !”  And  then  “  the  Shadow” 
reveals  its  mystery  and  departs,  leaving  the  heart  chastened 
and  lightened  with  increased  purity  and  peace. 

We  are  cast  dowTn  in  order  that  we  may  go  higher.  Thus, 
alternately  cast  down  and  exalted,  we  are  prepared  to  meet 
all  the  changes  of  this  mundane  life.  No  stoic,  agnostic,  nor 
egotist  can  be  a  Rosicrucian:  it  requires  feeling ,  and  that  in¬ 
tensified.  Without  this,  no  initiation  could  possibly  impart 
that  baptism  of  the  spirit  which  gives  birth  to  new  or  dor¬ 
mant  energies ;  or  awaken  soul  germs  of  a  higher  and  better 
life,  where  will  reigns  over  all,  and  matter  becomes  trans- 
mutable. 

Who  are  Rosicrucians  ?  I  may  not  answer  this  question ! 
“  By  their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them.”  No  better  test,  or 
one  more  unerring  or  unmistakable  could  be  given  than 
that  given  by  our  Master,  “  the  man  of  Sorrows”  whom  they 
hanged  on  a  cross  long  ago.  Let  others  speak  for  them¬ 
selves!  There  is  nothing  in  Rosicrucife  to  be  ashamed  of, 
and  I  glory  in  being  one,  though  an  humble  builder  of  the 
Temple  in  these  degenerate  times.  And  if  I  speak  of  my¬ 
self  in  this  connection  it  is  because  I  am  free  to  do  so — • 
while  I  may  not  mention  others.  It  has  been  my  lot  to  be 
a  teacher  most  of  my  life.  I  write  and  speak  to  aid  others, 
not  for  pay  in  coin,  or  in  popularity.  Unfortunately,  how¬ 
ever,  some  fail  to  grasp  ideas  in  their  fullness,  and  carried 


232 


ROSICRUCI^:. 


away  by  enthusiasm,  rush  into  occult  studies  and  practices 
expecting  immediate  results.  This  is  wrong.  There  must 
be  a  certain  growth  and  ripening  ere  fruits  can  be  expected. 
Some  seem  to  think,  that  if  they  can  find  a  lodge  of 
Rosicruciae  and  be  initiated  that  they  will  come  out  with  a 
diploma,  and  become  at  once  a  full-fledged  Rosicrucian. 
Initiation  is  something  more  than  taking  an  oath  and  going 
through  certain  forms  and  ceremonies — no  matter  how  im¬ 
posing  or  awe  inspiring.  It  is  something  more  than  a  course 
of  lectures  and  study  of  authorities.  It  is  something  deeper 
and  higher  than  intellectual  culture.  It  is  the  knowing  of 
truth.  To  know  is  something  higher  than  learning — it  in¬ 
volves  mind ,  soul  and  body.  Ah,  what  a  work  is  this  !  A 
life  is  far  too  short  for  some  to  attain  the  goal  of  knowledge. 
It  is  said  that  Pythagoras  spent  twenty-two  years  among 
the  mystics  of  Egypt,  in  his  initiation.  Mind,  however 
deep  and  subtle,  cannot  bear  immortal  fruit.  It  takes  the 
entire  man — soul,  mind  and  body !  The  Rosicrucians  think 
very  little  of  the  wrays  of  the  world — its  pride,  arrogance 
and  dignity — he  is  simple,  for  he  finds  truth  is  very  simple. 
The  fruits  of  truth  are  free  from  pretense.  But  unfor¬ 
tunately  there  are  many  pretenders — but  “by  their  fruits 
shall  ye  know  them.” 

But  fruits  are  not  always  confined  to  acts.  They  are 
visible  to  the  acute  sense,  even  in  the  embryo — in  the  thought 
and  in  the  spirit,  as  fruit  may  be  known  in  a  tree  by  its 
buds.  I  meet  many  Rosicrucians,  and  although  total 
strangers,  we  know  each  other  at  sight.  The  true  artist  has 
a  feeling  which  transcends  his  thought  in  viewing  ivorks  of 
art.  It  is  his  best  and  safest  guide  to  a  just  and  true  esti¬ 
mate  of  what  he  beholds. 

God  fashions  all  things  and  paints  them  in  all  colors 
possible.  There  is  nothing  in  existence  that  is  not  of  kin 
to  intelligence.  They  are  all  suggestive  of  thought — nay  ! 


R0SICRUCI2E. 


233 


they  are  thoughts  materialized.  And  He  has  fashioned 
men  with  thought-reservoirs,  as  a  flower,  for  receiving  the 
polen  and  the  dew;  and  the  Rosierucian  may  be  known  by 
the  stamp  that  God  has  put  upon  him,  whether  he  is  con¬ 
scious  of  it  or  not. 

Pre-existence  is  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  Rosy  Cross, 
and  men  who  have  existed  on  this  earth  previous  to  this 
existence,  as  men ,  have  forms,  expression  and  motion  more 
suggestive  of  peace,  rest  and  harmony  than  those  who  have 
only  just  commenced  life  on  this  planet.  The  former  have 
more  receptiveness,  prescience,  and  intuition;  for  they  have 
not  wholly  forgotten  the  lessons  learned  in  other  bodies; 
neither  have  they  entirely  forgotten  the  friends  and  com¬ 
panions  of  that  other  life;  and  when  they  meet  they  feel  a 
mutual  attraction  and  friendship  for  each  other — a  kindred 
feeling,  more  real  than  that  of  the  blood. 

During  my  studies  of  nature,  and  my  travels  as  a  lecturer 
and  practitioner  of  phrenology  and  kindred  sciences,  I  have 
met  with  many  men,  and  many  strange — and,  I  might  say, 
weird — experiences  I  have  looked  into  eyes  of  all  shades 
of  color  that  contained  nothing ,  but  which  reflected  all  the 
phenomenon  of  the  outer  world.  Other  eyes  I  have  met 
that  looked  deep — as  into  a  world  of  causation,  without 
limit — as  looking  into  an  eternal  past,  and  out  of  which 
rise  up  shadows,  not  dark  or  many  colored,  but  fiery,  as  it 
were,  or  of  a  burning,  melting  tenderness.  Such  shadows 
are  portents  of  power.  Of  such  are  Rosicrucians.  Many 
such  have  I  taught  the  true  principles  of  human  life  and 
action,  and  sent  them  on  their  way  rejoicing.  Many  a  false 
step  have  I  arrested,  and  infused  hope  into  the  minds  of 
the  desperate — aye  !  and  turned  the  would-be  suicide  into 
the  ways  of  love,  labor  and  usefulness.  The  evil  is  always 
too  apparent  in  the  young:  the  good  is  mainly  hidden.  To 
find  the  truly  good  in  the  soul,  and  display  it  to  the  con- 


234 


R0SICRUCI2E. 


sciousness,  is  to  make  it  loved  and  followed  as  a  beacon  of 
life.  The  will  needs  an  incentive,  high  and  noble,  in  order 
to  its  growth;  and  no  matter  how  lofty  one’s  own  ideal  of 
himself  and  his  powers  may  be,  to  find  them  recognized  by  an¬ 
other,  and  that  other  a  stranger,  is  like  doubling  the  powers  to 
its  attainment.  Alas!  how  many  of  mature  years  are  in 
doubt  and  condemnation  of  themselves,  because  they  are 
not,  and  never  have  been,  understood,  i.  e.,  the  best  part 
of  themselves.  We  long  to  have  the  good  of  ourselves 
understood,  and  not  the  evil.  And  herein,  in  the  knowing 
the  good  in  ourselves  lies  the  whole  secret  of  life,  health 
and  happiness,  both  here  and  hereafter.  This  idea  is  the 
basic  floor  of  “  ^Mental  Science  healing,”  and  as  I  said — I 
reiterate — this  is  the  leading  school,  this  day,  in  philosophy — 
in  which  the  religion  of  Christ  becomes  real  and  practical. 
We  are  slowly  turning  back  to  the  time  when  man  had 
more  faith  in  the  Gods  than  in  physical  substances,  and 
diseases  were  prevented  and  cured  by  the  use  of  talismans, 
incantations,  invocations,  words,  thoughts,  spells,  charms, 
etc.,  all  of  which  were  mere  forms  of  expression  for  that 
spiritual  power  of  which  I  have  spoken,  having  an  effect 
upon  the  mind  primarily,  and  secondarily  upon  the  body. 
But  man’s  spiritual  nature  has  gradually  become  more  and 
more  dense,  or  physical,  and  instead  of  carrying  or  wearing 
talismans,  charms,  etc.,  as  a  protection  or  cure,  people  now 
invoke  the  doctors  instead  of  the  gods,  and  swallow  their 
amulets  whole  at  a  gulp  ;  and  yet  people  die  now  as  then, 
or  as  when  Moses  set  up  the  brazen  serpent  in  the  wilderness. 

Gautama  said  that  the  most  fatal  diseases  enter  through 
the  eye ;  and  we  of  the  Rosy  Cross  know  this  is  true  in  a 
sense  ;  for  through  the  eye  the  imagination  (in  most  men) 
is  fed,  and  the  passions  may  be  aroused  to  the  commission 
of  acts  unhallowed  and  unnatural.  By  reason  of  which  the 
soul  is  tainted  with  moral  poison,  which  in  the  blood  pro- 


ROSICRUCI^. 


235 


duces  venereal  infections,  hereditary  and  deadly — the 
foundation  of  all  known  diseases. 

If  disease  enters  ever,  or  in  any  form  whatever,  througn 
the  eye,  it  cannot  be  removed  by  agents  which  act  upon 
the  physical  or  chemical  organization  only,  for  the  reason, 
it  being  of  a  spiritual  or  psychical  origin,  it  enters  directly 
into  and  deranges  the  harmonious  action  of  the  mind, 
which  holds  supreme  control  over  the  physical.  To  cure 
these  phases  of  disease  the  remedies  applied  must  be  of  a 
character  that  will  influence  directly  the  subtle,  spiritual 
forces  of  the  individual,  and  through  them  produce  vital  and 
chemical  changes  in  the  physical  structure. 

But  disease  does  not  enter  in  any  manner  from  without. 
That  which  is  external  simply  wakens  up  that  which  is  al¬ 
ready  in  us.  Disease  is  not  a  thing — it  is  simply  a  depolar¬ 
izing  of  the  self.  That  sights  and  sounds  lure  the  imagina¬ 
tion  into  activity,  I  claim,  and  in  this  faculty  of  mind  de¬ 
polarization  of  the  spirit’s  action  takes  place,  which  causes  a 
sudden  condensation  of  spirit  in  some  parts  of  the  system, 
to  the  damage  of  other  parts  left  destitute.  Thus  the 
system  is  all  thrown  out  of  harmony,  because  the  normal 
action  of  the  spirit  is  disturbed. 

Now,  belief  being  the  fundamental  principle  of  power — 
and  man  being  more  physical  than  mental,  his  belief  is 
more  readily  aroused  and  sustained  by  physical  substances 
than  by  ideas — hence  the  Magi  used  charms,  amulets,  and 
talismans,  to  inspire  the  belief  of  the  ignorant  and  material. 
Furthermore:  who  can  doubt  for  a  moment  that  drugs, 
metals,  vegetable  substances,  etc.,  have  a  peculiar  affinity 
for  certain  spirits  or  an  antipathy  for  others  ?  "Who  knows 
why  Dr.  Hotchkiss  had  his  room  hung  round  and  round  with 
rags  of  all  shades  of  color  except  blue  ?  "Were  these  things 
talismans  calling  and  binding  magnetic  spirits  to  himself, 
thus  strengthening  him  in  the  cure  of  diseases,  and  in  the 


236 


ROSICRUCLE. 


retaining  of  his  youthful  vigor  and  prolonging  his  life  ? 
Why  did  he  fall  into  a  towering  rage,  and  lose  his  magnetic 
power,  if  one  came  dressed  in  blue  into  his  room  ?  Why 
did  he  fill  his  cellar  with  such  a  dense  smoke — so  thick  that 
no  one  but  himself  could  endure  it  upon  certain  occasions  ? 
Don’t  tell  me  there  is  no  truth  in  magic,  for  I  know  better. 
Still  I  care  not  who  doubts  it.  The  higher  magic  set  forth 
in  these  pages  is  for  the  use  of  a  higher  order  of  mankind 
than  this  world  is  much  acquainted  with.  Sakyi  Mouni 
knew  of  these  powers  and  attained  thereto.  The  sick  either 
recovered  or  died  immediately,  in  a  certain  radius  on 
either  side  of  the  road  along  which  he  passed.  And  that 
without  even  a  thought  of  his.  When  scholars  came  to 
converse  with  him,  those  who  received  his  word  with  joy,  be¬ 
came  endowed  with  power;  but  the  skeptical,  and  self-suffi¬ 
cient,  who  argued  with  him  and  disputed,  swelled  up  with 
their  own  importance  and  burst  asunder,  dying  in  his  pres¬ 
ence.  So  says  the  sacred  Bible  of  the  Buddhists.  Appolonius 
of  Tyane  was  another  who  possessed  magic  power.  He  lived 
at  the  time  of  Jesus,  and  according  to  heathen  history  per¬ 
formed  as  many  miraculous  cures  as  Jesus  did.  He  lived 
mainly  in  the  desert — preached  and  healed  the  sick  by  a 
word  or  a  touch,  and  was  clairvoyant.  Of  Christ  I  have 
already  said  enough.  He  was  simply  God  incarnate.  He 
gave  us  the  purest  doctrines  of  a  true  life,  and  taught  the 
superiority  of  man  over  the  realm  of  disease  and  death — a 
true  immortality  on  earth.  He  not  only  taught  it  by  pre¬ 
cept,  but  he  lived  it;  and  died  to  illustrate  and  prove  what 
he  had  taught,  viz :  the  power  to  render  matter  imperishable. 

Gautama,  Appolonius,  Plato,  Pythagoras,  and  a  host  of 
others,  taught  pre-existence  and  a  future  life,  but  none  but 
Jesus  taught  and  demonstrated  immortality  in  the  flesh.  He 
was  the  only  begotten  son  of  God,  or  Love — not  that  there  are 
not  other  sons  of  God,  but  he  is  the  only  one  begotten  of  a 


ROSXCBUCLE. 


237 


woman.  Buddha  says  that  a  mail  strong  spiritually,  can 
impregnate  a  very  sensitive  and  pure  woman  by  the  man¬ 
ipulation  of  his  hand  over  the  umbilicus.  This,  by  the 
greatest  sage,  and  philosopher  of  any  time,  must  have 
weight  with  every  true  thinking  man;  especially  when 
corroborated  by  modern  developments.  If  his  assertion  be 
true;  and  one  in  the  form  can  by  magnetic  touch  produce 
pregnancy  without  copulation,  how  much  less  wonderful 
the  idea  contained  in  the  New  Testament,  of  u  the  immacu¬ 
late  conception,”  becomes!  An  angel,  by  his  presence, 
without  even  contact — by  a  word  spoken,  quickens  the  pro- 
creative  powers  of  a  virgin!  An  idea — no  matter  how  sug¬ 
gestive,  is  all  that  is  required.  These  bodies  are  mere 
receptacles  of  spirit;  and  well  it  is  for  us,  when  the  spirit 
flowing  into  us  is  divine,  instead  of  devilish.  Modern 
materializations;  the  overflowing  of  hospitals  with  the  in¬ 
sane;  the  obsessions  that  stalk  the  streets  of  the  world 
unseen,  and  seen,  prove  the  above  to  be  true.  Ideas  are  all 
that  can  do  us  good,  or  be  of  any  harm  spiritually;  for  they 
enter  in,  being  conceived,  gestate  and  personify  themselves 
within  us.  In  this  domain  the  procreative  functions  are 
involved;  and  ideas  of  love  become  paramount. 

Human  love  is  a  magnetic  effect,  but  the  why  and  the 
wherefore  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained.  But 
it  is  simple  enough  to  one  of  comprehension.  All  things 
are  male  and  female,  and  the  sex  that  distinguishes  the  in¬ 
dividual  is  the  active,  or  visible  expression — while  the 
negative  or  invisible  half  is  mainly  latent — or  manifests 
itself  ideally.  Thus  every  one  of  any  sensibility  has  an  ideal 
of  one  of  the  opposite  sex  that  they  imagine  suits  them;  and 
when  they  see  one  who  coimesponds  thereto,  they  are 
attracted.  We  love  only  that  which  corresponds  to  some 
invisible  and  unknown  being  within  ourselves.  And  they 
in  whom  this  Ideal  is  well  defined,  and  strong,  seldom  or 


238 


ROSICRUCIiZ. 


never  love  a  second  time.  Some  people  are  double — i.  e., 
under  some  circumstances  the  ideal  goes  forth  clothed  in 
flesh  exactly  like  the  person — who  is  partly  or  wholly  un¬ 
conscious  at  the  time.  Magnetism  quickens  and  acceler¬ 
ates  the  development  of  this  counterpart.  This  explains 
why  some  people  are  more  susceptible  to  magnetism  than 
others — and  explains  to  a  certain  extent  trance  mecliumship 
— and  the  resemblance  that  has  been  noticed  sometimes 
between  a  medium  and  a  materialized  form.  In  marriage 
the  parties  too  often  awaken  to  the  realization  that  there  is 
little  or  no  correspondence  between  the  wedded  parties  and 
their  ideal — this  makes  them  unhappy  and  often  checks  the 
growth  of  the  ideal,  or  in  some  cases  drives  it  totally  out  of 
recognition.  They  cease  to  magnetize  each  other — hence 
they  cease  to  love.  This  is  prostitution,  in  which  there  is 
no  ideal,  and  no  worship  of  the  one  true  and  only  God. 
This  ideal  in  some  rare  cases  comes  to  life  in  the  individual, 
i.  e.,  comes  so  close  to  the  consciousness  of  the  individual  as 
to  be  heard  to  speak  in  plain  language  within  the  person — 
of  course  unheard  by  outsiders.  Not  only  this — but  the 
time  comes  speedily  wKen  from  many  the  counterpart  shall 
come  forth  an  objective  being,  as  Eve  came  forth  from  the 
side  of  Adam.  Recollect,  Adam  was  in  a  deep  sleep  wThen 
the  rib  wTas  extracted.  In  other  wrords  he  was  an  extraordi¬ 
nary  materializing  medium — and  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
was  another,  more  remarkable  still, 

I  am  not  vnthout  evidence  of  these  things,  in  actual  ex¬ 
istence,  even  now,  in  this  degenerate  and  unbelieving  age. 
If  marriage  was  as  it  should  be,  and  will  be,  we  should 
have  angels  walking  this  earth.  We  believe  in  angels  ! 
Then,  cultivate  your  ideal  love.  Love  only  one  of  the 
opposite  sex,  and  then  let  your  soul,  mind  and  body  rest. 
Keep  before  your  mind’s  eye  the  radiant  image  that  crossed 
your  path,  and  lured  you  to  marriage,  in  life’s  young 


* 

ROSICRUCLZE.  239 

dream  1 — And  let  no  changes,  nor  wrinkles,  ncr  gray  hairs, 
glide  between  your  youthful  counterpart  and  you,  on  life’s 
rough  voyage.  So  may  you  remain  young,  and  full  of  love 
and  joy. 

"We  do  not  have  to  depend  upon  churches  and  lodges 
for  initiation  into  the  grandest  mysteries  of  God;  for 
the  heavens  are  open — and  in  the  spaces  above  are  countless 
multitudes,  that  with  thought,  and  act,  are  baptizing  earth 
with  all  you  are  capable  of  receiving.  Then  arise  in  your 
thought  and  meet  them.  W e,  of  the  Rost  Cross,  believe 
in  “  the  double,”  in  dreams  and  visions.  We  hold  that  the 
soul  goes  out  of  the  body,  sometimes  in  sleep  or  trance,  or 
in  very  rare  cases,  by  an  effort  of  the  will.  That  when  out 
it  is  enveloped  by  the  spirit,  of  which  it  sometimes  forms 
an  exact  counterpart  of  the  body  it  has  left,  and  journeys 
to  other  worlds,  or  other  parts  of  this  one;  mingles  and 
holds  converse  with  other  beings  when  it  is  enlightened 
in  many  ways — and  often  the  future  is  shown  to  it  in 
symbols.  But  these  things  are  mainly  lost  when  the  soul 
resumes  its  body,  or  remembered  vaguely  as  dreams.  Some¬ 
times  some  little  thing  will  recall  something  learned  in  this 
manner,  and  we  are  astonished  at  what  we  suppose  is  our 
own  thoughts.  Many  persons  are  instructed  in  this  manner. 
One  such  experience  has  left  its  stamp  upon  me.  At  the 
risk  of  being  called  garrulous  I  will  relate  it. 

Many  years  ago  I  had  become  somewhat  soured  at  the 
rough  treatment  I  had  received  from  the  patterns  of  relig¬ 
ion  and  morality,  and  I  determined  to  let  the  dead  world 
bury  its  dead,  or  in  other  words,  I  did  not  think  I  “amounted 
to  anything,  anyway,”  and  that  I  would  not  try  to  teach 
any  one  anything  at  all  any  more.  So  I  cpiietly  went 
about  making  daily  bread  for  those  dependent  upon  mo. 
But  one  night  in  a  deep  sleep  I  was  in  an  immense  amphi¬ 
theatre.  I  stood  in  the  little  space  in  the  center,  where 


240 


ROSICRUCI.ZE. 


were  a  few  chairs  with  people  seated  in  them,  from  this  space 
seats  ascended  in  circles  around  me,  tier  above  tier,  high 
up  towards  the  dome-like  ceiling.  These  seats  were  liter¬ 
ally  crowded  with  people.  I  was  speaking  to  them,  and 
they  were  very  attentive,  though  I  have  no  idea  of  the  sub¬ 
ject  I  was  speaking  upon,  but  I  know  I  was  very  earnest 
and  wished  the  audience  to  believe  something — and  I 
recollect  saying,  “Now  all  you  want  to  convince  you  of  this 
truth  is  the  evidence!”  As  I  said  this  a  shock  and  cold 
wave  poured  over  me  and  I  raised  my  hands  above  my 
head  and  shouted,  “  Behold  the  evidence!”  And  as  I  held 
my  hands  aloft  outstretched,  there  came  “  the  stigmata”  in 
the  palms  thereof,  out  of  which  blood  oozed  slowly  and 
dropped  on  the  floor.  The  audience  sat  fixed  and  spell¬ 
bound  for  a  few  moments,  then  broke  forth  such  shrieks, 
groans,  and  cries  of  “Mercy!  Mercy!  Oh  God,  have  mercy 
on  us!”  Some  fell  down,  others  rose  up — and  such  a  scene! 
I  cannot  describe  it.  But  I  stood  there  a  minute,  then  said, 
“  let  us  thank  God  for  this  evidence!”  and  dropped  on  my 
knees,  and  the  whole  audience  prostrated  themselves  with 
me.  This  was  an  experience — it  was  no  dream.  I  was  at 
a  loss  for  the  meaning  of  it.  But  then  came  a  series  of 
events,  commonplace  and  trifling  of  themselves,  which  have 
assumed  great  magnitude  in  my  life,  forcing  me  from  se¬ 
clusion  and  silence.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  I 
have  the  audience  or  not — or  whether  I  give  the  evidence 
or  not.  Blessed  are  they  who  believe  from  beholding  u  The 
Stigmata!”  but  thrice  blessed  is  he  who  believes  from  feel¬ 
ing  it  in  his  own  person. 

Bor  you,  Reader, 

Lovingly  Written, 

B.  B.  Dowd. 


Hempstead ,  Texas. 


s  * 

, 


* 


DATE  DUE 


QUG31’6 


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BOSTON  COLLEGE 


Boston  College  Library 

Chestnut  Hill  67,  Mass. 


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